USA > New Jersey > Hunterdon County > Flemington > History of the Presbyterian Church in Flemington, New Jersey, for a century : with sketches of local matters for two hundred years > Part 2
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The Quakers, Presbyterians, and Baptists represented the religious faith of most of the emigrants to East and West Jersey. And this awakened an apprehension in the mind of Queen Anne, that the Dissenters would out- strip the Episcopal churches in her American Colonies. So she and her Councillors took measures to extend over her colonies the English Establishment, for which Dis- senters here would be taxed as in England. It was a project to sacrifice religious freedom to Episcopal ascen-
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dency. In the line of this policy this instruction was sent to Lord Cornbury : "You shall take especial care that Almighty God be devoutly and duly served throughout your government ; the Book of Common Prayer, as by law established, read each Sunday and holy day; and the blessed Sacrament administered according to the rites of the Church of England." He was to see that churches already built be maintained, and new ones erected as need required. The whole province was placed under the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Bishop of London, and the Governor was to give countenance and encouragement to the exercise of that jurisdiction. Thus the influence of royal favor was bestowed on that Church. Whether this might have resulted in changing the denominational character of the State was never tested, for the Governor rendered himself so ob- noxious, not only in New Jersey but also in New York, that he was removed in six years. The effect of these instructions was to plant Episcopal churches in several parts of the province, where, without this encourage- ment and aid, they would not have been established ; for example, in this county, at Amwell, Alexandria, and New Germantown. A writer belonging to the Episcopal Church, speaking of Amwell and Hopewell as early as 1718, regrets the presence of so many Dissenters in this part of the State. The Episcopal Church of Amwell, St. Andrew's, was situated near the present village of Rin- goes, where the old academy now is. It was in ex- istence as early as 1725. It was organized under a charter granted by the Crown, by a missionary of the "Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts." Rev. Wm. Frazer, a man of superior character,
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FLEMINGTON, NEW JERSEY.
and who was beloved by the Presbyterians and Germans of that neighborhood, labored there from 1768 until his death in 1795, with the exception of the period of the Revolutionary war. He was a loyalist, and was under appointment and pay by an English society. Hence he . would not omit prayers for the royal family. Public sentiment demanded the closing of his church and the cessation of his ministry. But so prudent was his con- duct, and so Christian-like his character, that no sooner was peace declared, than he opened his church and re- sumed his ministry with general acceptance. In 1845 the corporation was re-organized, and removed to Lam- bertville, where the succession is maintained in the St. Andrew's Church of that city.
One obstacle to this attempt at Episcopal supremacy was not alone the resistance of the Dissenters, but it was contrary to a stipulation made by the original proprietors, Lord Berkley and Sir George Carteret, to whom the proprietary right of the soil had been con- veyed by the Duke of York, who had received it from Charles II. They prepared a constitution, which as- sured civil and religious rights to all settlers. In the Fundamental Constitutions of East Jersey, A.D., 1683, it is declared that persons, "Shall no way be molested or prejudged for their religious persuasions, and exer- cise in matters of faith and worship, nor be compelled to frequent and maintain any place of worship or minis- try whatsoever." . In the Concessions and Agreements for West Jersey, it is declared, "As no man or number of men upon earth have power or authority to rule over man's conscience in religious matters-no person, or persons whatsoever, at any time or times hereafter, shall
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be anyways, upon any pretence whatsoever, called in question, or in the least punished or hurt in person, estate, or privilege, for the sake of his opinion, judg- ment, faith, or worship, towards God in matter of re- ligion." (Smith's History of New Jersey, pp. 271-272.)
These were the attractions, material, civil, and re- ligious, which this favored district, between the Raritan and the Delaware rivers, afforded to all settlers. Of the wholesale butcheries that followed the insurrection of Monmouth, Bancroft writes, "Is it strange that Scotch- Irish Presbyterians of virtue, education and courage hurried to East Jersey in such numbers, as to give to the rising commonwealth a character, which a century and a half has not effaced?" The more wealthy of these emigrants brought with them a great number of ser- vants ; and they transported whole families of poor laborers, whom they established on their lands, receiving in return half the produce. And thus it came to pass that no county in the State had so varied a population. There were the Huguenots, Hollanders, Germans, Scotch, Irish and English. And these had their re- ligious preferences. So that very early we find Quakers, Presbyterians, Lutherans, Reformed Dutch, Baptists, and Episcopalians.
2 I .
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FLEMINGTON, NEW JERSEY.
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN AMWELL VALLEY.
T HE history of the Presbyterian Church in this Am- well Valley may be said to begin with Governor John Reading. He and his descendants have rendered such valuable services to the establishment and growth of Presbyterianism, especially in our town and immediate neighborhood, as to deserve a somewhat detailed record of that family. He was the most liberal contributor to the Old Amwell Church ; and one or more of his de- scendants were in the Board of Trustees of this congre- gation from its organization, until 1867 ; also during a half century they were represented in the Session.
John Reading and Elizabeth his wife, the father and mother of the Governor, emigrated from England with their two children, John and Elsie. They were Quakers, and left their country on account of the persecution to which the Quakers were subjected. They settled in the town of Gloucester, N. J., previous to the year 1683, as he was that year a member of the Council, meeting in Burlington. He was a landholder in and about Gloucester, of which town he was Recorder from 1693 to 1701, inclusive. He was one of the pro- prietors of West Jersey and a prominent member of the Council, being often appointed on important committees. He, with William Riddle, Jr., and John Mills, was sent
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to purchase, in 1703, the great tract of one hundred and fifty thousand acres, between the Raritan and Delaware. He was a surveyor, and was appointed one of the com- missioners, to define the boundary line between New York and New Jersey, in 1719. He removed to his tract of land above Lambertville about 1703, and was the first prominent settler in Amwell Valley. He died there, and was buried in the ground of the Buckingham Meet- ing House in Buck's County, Pa.
John, the son, was born June 6th, 1686, and died No- vember 7th, 1767. He and his sister, when children, were taken to England by their mother to be educated. She remained with them nine years, attending to their edu- cation, the father living in this country. On the return of the son, it was found that he had embraced the doc- trines of the Presbyterians, to which he was ardently attached all his life ; and so his descendants have con- tinued. He married Mary Ryerson, a sister of Colonel P. Ryerson, then in the British service. He succeeded to the greater part of his father's estate, and followed his father's occupation. From 1712 to 1715 he surveyed tracts for parties in Burlington, who were locating lands through the Amwell Valley, under the grants of the dividend of 1703. At the same time, with an eye to a valuable purchase, which a surveyor would be supposed to have, he secured for himself six hundred acres along the South Branch, two miles from Flemington, where afterwards, on a beautiful site, he built the Reading homestead, now owned by Philip Brown. He is said to have planted the walnut trees growing there. He owned three mill properties, and the land east and west of his residence for half a mile. He was a member of
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FLEMINGTON, NEW JERSEY.
"His Majesty's Council," from 1728 to death, and Vice- President for ten or twelve years. On the death of Governor Hamilton, in 1747, the government devolved on him until the arrival of Governor Belcher, with whom he had the most friendly and intimate connection. He · was one of the first Trustees of Princeton College. His name is at the head of the list in 1748. On the death of Governor Belcher, in August, 1757, he succeeded a second time to the administration, in which he continued until June, 1758, when he was superseded by the arrival of Governor Bernard. His influence, and services, and money were freely bestowed to lay the foundation of religious privileges, educational advantages, and na- tional freedom, upon which we are now building. At the ripe age of eighty-one his long, useful and honored career ended, amid the quiet of that beautiful spot, which, under his cultivation, had emerged from a forest into a garden. The first Amwell Church has two com- munion cups, heavy, of hammered silver, costly in their day, and still in use, given by Governor Reading. They bear this inscription : " A gift of the Honorable John Reading, Esq., deceased, to the Eastern Presbyterian Congregation in Amwell, 1767."
He had a large family of seven sons and three daughters. Five of the sons settled near him, and per- petuated the moral and religious influences of their sire. They were prominent in church matters, and took a lively interest in the Revolutionary struggle. The youngest son, Thomas, was Captain of the 6th Company of the 3d Battalion of the Jersey Brigade, who were mustered in during February, 1774. He served until the Battalion was discharged. A grandson, John,
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entered the company of his uncle, as Ensign. In Jan- uary, 1777, he was promoted to First Lieutenant in a Company of another Battalion, in which he continued until September, 1780. Another grandson, Samuel, was appointed First Lieutenant in Captain Stout's Company of the " Jersey Line," first establishment, December 18th, 1775. He was taken prisoner at Three Rivers, June 8th,
1776. He became Captain, February 5th, 1777, and Major of the First Regiment, December 29th, 1781, and served until the close of the war. Yet another, Charles, was Lieutenant of the Third Regiment, Hunterdon, and afterwards Captain.
The Governor's oldest daughter, Ann, married Rev. Charles Beatty, one of the first graduates of the Old Log College of Neshaminy, Pa. He was a co-worker with the Tennants in this State, and a prominent clergy- man all his life. They were the progenitors of a num- erous line of descendants, some of whom have been conspicuous in Church and State. On the female side, eight married Presbyterian ministers ; viz., Revs. Enoch Green, J. W. Moore, P. F. Fithian, Samuel Lawrence, Alexander Boyd, Robert Steel, D.D., Henry R. Wilson, D.D., B. Wilbar, C. C. Beatty, D.D., who was one of the most honored and distinguished ministers of the Pres- byterian Church, was a grandson; and Miss Beatty, a pioneer female missionary at Dehra, India, was a great-granddaughter. One of the sons, General John Beatty, was in the Revolutionary war. For many years he was one of the most prominent citizens of Trenton. He was the first President of the Bridge Company, and of the Trenton Bank. Elizabeth, another daughter of
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FLEMINGTON, NEW JERSEY.
the Governor, married John Hackett, from whom Hack- ettstown derived its name. Another daughter, Mary, . was married to Rev. William Mills.
Daniel, the third son of the Governor, had two sons, Daniel and John Reid, and several daughters. One married Mr. Wood, and was the mother of George Wood, an eminent lawyer of New York; another married a Montgomery, and was the mother of General Mont- gomery ; another married Rev. Mr. Grant, the first pastor of this church. The son Daniel lived on James Ewing's farm, and his son, Daniel Kennedy, left the money to build the academy which is now our public school. John Reid Reading had several children, of whom were Robert K., and a daughter who married Isaac G. Farlee.
The Governor and many of his descendants lie in the old Amwell churchyard, others in our burial ground.
His youngest son, Thomas, lived on the old home- stead at Flemington Junction. He was one of the fore- most in the effort to establish this church, and was one of its first elders and trustees. The children of the Governor's oldest son, John, were George, Alexander, Montgomery and John. Joseph, who was the son of this John, and a grandson of the Governor, was a trustee of this congregation from 1823 to his death in 1833. He was the father of John G. Reading, who was for many years a merchant in this town. He was a trustee of this congregation from 1852 until his removal to Phila- delphia in 1867. He acquired a large fortune. He be- stowed liberally to various religious and benevolent ob- jects. By him the windows in the audience room of the church, costing $800, were given, as a memorial of his
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parents. He died in Philadelphia, January 27th, 1891 .. In his will he bequeathed $2000 to the trustees of this. church. "In trust, however, for the uses and purposes. following, that is to say : To safely invest the same upon good bonds secured by first mortgage or mortgages. on real estate, in such sum or sums not more than one- half or the real value of such real estate, and the net in- come and interest derived therefrom, less taxes and other necessary expenses incident thereto, or so much. of the said net income as may be necessary, to be used by them in keeping in good order and repair the fence around our private burial plot in the graveyard of said. church, and also the burial plot itself, with the grave- stones and monument therein, and to use and apply the- residue of such net income, in keeping in good order and. repair the outside fence around the said graveyard."
The first Presbyterian Church organized in Philadel- phia was in 1698. In 1707 the number of ministers was. eight, and they formed a Presbytery. In 1716 this number had increased to seventeen. This Presbytery covered the large territory from Virginia to New York. In the Hopewell Valley religious worship was held by Presbyterians, several years before Rev. Robert Orr, the first pastor, was ordained and installed over the church in Maidenhead, now Lawrenceville, in 1715. His field embraced the ground covered by Pennington, Lawrence, Trenton and Titusville. It is probable that Amwell was included in this wide parish. For the call was pre- sented by Philip Ringo, who was the first settler in Ringoes. In 1719 a church had been organized in Read- ington composed of Dutch Huguenots. Among these were names still found in their descendants, Latourette,
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Delamater, Devore, Lequear, Grandin, Hoagland, Fisher, Probasco, Schenck, Van Fleet, Wyckoff, Voorhees.
These facts warrant the inference that Presbyterian worship was held at an early day in the last century in this Amwell Valley. As the minutes of the Presbytery of Philadelphia from 1717-1733 have been lost, there is no record of the churches formed during that period. But at the first meeting of the Presbytery of New Brunswick, which had been formed by dividing the Presbytery of Philadelphia, held August 8th, 1738, the church of Amwell is found upon the roll. It had prob- ably been organized by the Presbytery of Philadelphia. Presbyterian service was probably held as early as 1716, under the ministry of Rev. Robert Orr, through whose labors there was a large increase to the churches. I infer from his zeal, that he occasionally preached in that neighborhood, especially as an Episcopal congre- gation was flourishing as early as 1725 in Amwell. Be- fore the population required the erection of a church edifice, meetings were held at private houses. That Son of Thunder, Rev. Gilbert Tennant, called to New Brunswick in 1738, extended his preaching tours as far as this region, and quickened the zeal of the multitudes he addressed. The proximity of this district to the Old Log College at Neshaminy, Pa., now Hartsville, prob- ably secured the services of some of those pioneers of Presbyterianism. Whitfield preached at Amwell, April 25th, 1739 He says, "Some thousands of people had gathered here by noon, expecting me then, but Mr. Gilbert Tennant and John Rowland, Wales and Camp- bell, coming there to meet me, had given them three sermons." Mr. Rowland possessed a commanding elo-
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quence, was fearless and faithful, and became very pop- ular. He labored at Amwell, " an agreeable people " as he calls them. They asked to have him for their minis- ter, October 4th, 1739, to preach to them one-third of his time ; but the Presbytery ordained him as an evan- gelist, October 12th, 1739. As such, he preached for six months at Amwell and Lawrenceville with great ac- ceptance. There were amazing manifestations at Am- well. There was a revival in 1740.
This religious awakening must have greatly strength- ened the Amwell Church, which was at that date the only Presbyterian Church between Pennington and the churches at Kingwood and Bethlehem.
Henry Race, M.D., of Pittstown, has a certificate of a lottery from the Presbyterian Church of Amwell, which began its drawing May 5th, 1749, and finished May 12th, I749. This would indicate that a church edifice was built about that time, because these church lotteries were devoted to that purpose. Probably, therefore, a log building had sufficed for the congregation, until these revivals required larger accommodations. This house of worship stood in the old graveyard on the York Road, about half way between Reaville and Lari- son's Corner.
The first pastor was Eliab Byram, who accepted the call June 25th, 1751. He graduated at Harvard in 1740. He was a companion of the devoted Brainerd, and be- came pastor at Mendham, N. J., in 1743. He went with Rev. William Dean, who was a graduate of Log College, to the valley of Virginia in 1746, where their labors were blessed with a great revival which continued until 1751. They were compelled to leave, on account of a
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bitter feeling which was excited against them by "The Old Side," which stirred up the government of Virginia against the revivalists. In the Amwell Valley Mr. Byram's labors were so successful, that, in 1754, the Presbytery was petitioned, "by the people bordering on the Delaware," to give them the privilege of building a meeting house for their own convenience. This was granted, and a separate congregation was formed, and a church built at Mount Airy, which was called the Second Amwell.
These continued as united charges until 1818. In 1753 a parsonage was purchased. The old subscription papers are still on file, with the following names ap- pended : John Smith, Jacob Sutphin, John Steel, Jacob Mattison, Eliab Byram (who gave £10), Benjamin Howell, Garret Schenck, Jon. Stout, Elizabeth Harney, William Schenck, Abraham Prall, Peter Prall, Daniel Larew, Thomas Hardin, Benjamin Johnson, David Bar- ham. The parish was divided into two districts, the south side of the Neshanic (afterwards called the Old House division), and the north side (afterwards called the Flemington division). This distinction is retained in all subscription papers and salary lists. The follow- ing names were of the north side: John Reading (the Governor, who subscribed £50), John Reading, Jr., Jacob Gray, Daniel Reading, Jacob Mattison, Martin Ryerson (the great-grandfather of the late Hon. Martin Ryerson, of Newton, N.J. In 1767, Martin Ryerson was one of the Judges of the Inferior Court of Common Pleas for this county), David Barham, Daniel Griggs, George Reading, James Stout, Richard Philips, John Anderson, William Anderson, Samuel Carman, Samuel
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Furman, Thomas Hunt, Jonathan Hill, Samuel Fleming, Richard Reading, Samuel Hill, Joseph Reading, Derrick Sutphin, John Cox, John Francis, William Davison, John Wood, Henry Dildine, Nathaniel Bogart, Abraham Larew.
Rev. Mr. Byram died before May 1754. It is sup- posed that his body lies under the heavy horizontal slab, on which not a letter is engraved, in the old graveyard.
In 1755 a Mr. Hait, or Hoit, was ordained. He had graduated at the College of New Jersey the preceding year. Rev. Samuel Davies wrote of him, " A promising young man." He remained ten years. He then went to Wallkill, Orange County, N. Y., and afterwards set- tled at Connecticut Farms, N. J., where he died, 1779. He was Moderator of the Synod of New York and Phil- adelphia, which met at Philadelphia, May 22nd, 1776. He was succeeded by William Kirkpatrick, June 24th, 1766, who died three years afterwards, September 8th, 1769. His monument is in the old graveyard. Rev. Mr. Frazer, the Episcopal rector of Amwell, wrote re- specting Mr. Kirkpatrick: "The Presbyterian congre- gation attended at church constantly, since the death of their minister the Rev. Mr. Kirkpatrick, who died about twelve months ago. This gentleman's benevolent dis- position and good catholic spirit has had its proper effect upon his congregation, who are not anyways tinc- tured with that rigid severity in their religious notions, oftentimes so peculiar to Dissenters." Penn. Magazine, July 1888, p. 226.
Mr. Kirkpatrick graduated from Princeton College, in 1757, of which institution afterwards he was elected a trustee, in 1768.
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FLEMINGTON, NEW JERSEY.
Mr. John Warford was his successor. He graduated from Princeton in 1774. He was ordained and installed July 31st, 1776. Mr. William Tennant was Moderator. In those days the Presbytery of New Brunswick extended from Newton to Trenton, and across the middle of the
Warren County, and to Freehold. He was settled upon State. Mr. Warford was sent as supply to Knowlton, a salary of £100, the congregations of First and Second prices of produce increased, arising mostly from the de- Amwell each paying £50. But, during the Revolution,
duce at the old price, or as much money as would pur- 2Ist, 1779, it was agreed that the salary be paid in pro- So, at a joint meeting of the two congregations, January did not represent the same value as when he was called. preciation of the Continental money, so that this sum
chase it. Some paid in money, some in produce, and some a part in each, as the salary lists show. At the same meeting it was determined to circulate a subscrip-
tion to purchase a new parsonage, for the old one was very much out of repair. On this paper generous sums were signed. But the price of land rose so rapidly, that when the time came to buy, the amount raised was not sufficient. This was abandoned. Meantime the trus- tees hired " a plantation adjourning the parsonage for £150, in order the better to support the minister," and a special subscription was circulated to make up that
23rd, 1787, although he supplied the pulpit occasionally sum. Mr. Warford's pastorate continued until October
during the following winter and spring. In July, 1789, he was installed over the Presbyterian Church at Salem, N. J. He had a warm heart, and was enlisted in the
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cause of Christian philanthropy and missionary enter- prise, to which he devoted much of his energies.
In 1784 a proposal was made to sell the two buildings, "commonly called the old and new meeting houses of the English Presbyterians of Amwell, and erect one house for the two congregations at a central point, which it is supposed must be between the old meeting house and the brook or run of water crossing the roads below John Ringo's old tavern house. As these houses will go but a little way toward building a new house, which must be large and good," subscriptions were so- licited. But though encouragement was received, the congregations did not favor the measure, and it was abandoned.
The acknowledgment of the independence of the thir- teen Colonies, and the return of peace, renewed the tide of immigration, which had flowed so strongly before the Revolution, and Hunterdon County received its share ; so that, in 1790, the population of the county was, 20,153. The population of the townships was : Amwell, 5201, which was more than double that of any other town- ship; Kingwood, 2440; Hopewell, 2320 ; Trenton, 1946 ; Alexandria, 1503; Bethlehem, 1335; Maidenhead, 1032. Lebanon, Readington and Tewksbury are combined, 4370. The number of slaves, 1301, and of free blacks, 191.
It began to be inconvenient and expensive to the large number residing around Flemington and north- ward, to go to Trenton for the transaction of legal business where court was held since 1719. Besides, that county-seat was at the extreme southern corner, and the county buildings were "much out of repair." In 1790
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