USA > New Jersey > Burlington County > Burlington > History of the church in Burlington, New Jersey : comprising the facts and incidents of nearly two hundred years, from original, contemporaneous sources > Part 25
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"I am Reverend Sir &c
"JONN ODELL."
A MISTAKE CORRECTED. Mr. Odell to the Secretary. Extract. "Burlington Jany 6 1 1768. " REVEREND SIR:
* * "When I wrote my former Letter I was mis- taken with regard to the number of Communicants in Burling- ton & Mount Holly. At an Administration of the Holy Sacrament here soon after my arrival there were 35 Communi- cants which I then supposed to belong all to the Parish of Burlington ; but I found upon a more particular inquiry that the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper had never been administered in the Church at Mount Holly & that it had hitherto been usual for the Communicants of both parishes to assemble on Sacrament Days at Burlington. * *
" I beg leave to subscribe myself &c
" JONN ODELL."
THE REV. JONATHAN ODELL.
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IN BURLINGTON.
THE NAMES OF THE CHURCH IN BURLINGTON.
On the outside of the vellum cover of the first Parish Regis- ter, we have the title, "PARISH REGISTER OF ST. MARY'S CHURCH, BURLINGTON." On the inside of the same cover, quite near the top, we find these words : "The Register of the Church of St. Ann's at Burlington." Immediately under this is the following :
" MEMORANDUM. This Church was called St Ann's (in the first Charter, granted Octobr 4th 1704 by Lord Cornbury) after the name of the Queen ; but when a more ample charter was granted in 1709, Januy 25th, by Lieut Governor Ingoldsby, the Church was called St Mary's, and so continues to be denomi- nated, on account of its first foundation-stone having been laid on the 25th of March, which was in 1703, but this, it seems, was not adverted to till afterwards-
"JONN ODELL.
" April 7th 1768."
Mr. Odell had been in Burlington but a little more than eight months, when he made the above memorandum; and was probably unacquainted with all the facts which appear in the letters of Mr. Talbot, and the 'History' of Mr. Bass, those papers having been copied in England and brought back to America, in the year 1836, (See pp. 6 and 127). Mr. Talbot in his letter of ' April 10th, 1703,' (See p. 33) says : 'I laid the corner stone of St. Mary's Church ;' and in his letter of May 3d of the same year, (See p. 36) he says : ' I was at Burlington last Lady day, and after prayers we went to the Ground where they were going to build a Church, and I laid the first stone. We called this Church St. Mary's, it being upon her day.'
In his 'History of the Church at Burlington,' (See p. 127) Mr. Bass who, as well as Mr. Talbot, was personally acquainted with every step of its progress from the beginning, writes, (See p. 129) 'The Church of St. Mary in Burlington had the founda- tion-stone laid on the 25th of March, 1703 ; being a day sacred to the memory of the Annunciation of the Conception of our Blessed Saviour to the Virgin Mary, which gave name to the Church.'
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He further writes, (See p. 130) : "The members began to think it convenient to form themselves into a regular Society, according to the Law and Customs of England, and thereupon addressed themselves to his Excellency, Lord Cornbury, (since Earl of Clarendon,) her Majesty's Governor, who on the 4th of Oct., 1704, [the date first referred to in the above Memorandum of Mr. Odell,] granted his Warrant for a Patent," etc. A copy of this we have, on p. 130, wherein the name "St. Annes" appears.
Moreover Mr. Bass writes, (See p. 133): "In 1709, the Government devolved upon Col. Richard Ingoldsby, under whose administration, our Vestry (that by some unaccountable neglect, had omitted to pass the charter designed for us, by the Earl of Clarendon,) [Lord Cornbury,] got it now passed, under the Broad Seal of this Province, whereby they became incorporated by the name of the Minister, Church-Wardens, and Vestry of the Church of ST. MARY in Burlington; which was enrolled in the Secretary's Office, the 25th of January, 1709," (the other date referred to in the above Memorandum of Mr. Odell.) From all which we find, that Mr. Talbot named the Church St. Mary's, when he laid the first stone in 1703; that Lord Corn- bury, in his Warrant for a Patent of Incorporation in 1704, called it St. Ann's, but this charter never having passed, it was never legally St. Ann's ; and that in 1709, the year after Lord Corn- bury was superseded, the charter was passed, wherein, not St. Ann's, the name 'designed ' for the Church by Cornbury, but ST. MARY's, the name given it at the first, became its name in law.
It will be observed, that neither here, nor elsewhere, except in the Will of Mrs Talbot, (See pp. 246-8) is there any allusion to the name St. James, as belonging to the Church in Burlington.
THE QUAKERS THE MOST FRIENDLY OF ALL DISSENTERS. Mr. Odell to the Secretary. Extracts.
" Burlington, July 5, 1768. " REVEREND SIR ;
"I think it my duty to represent to the Society the importance of a Mission at Trenton. There is no other Episcopal Church on the Great Road between Burlington & Brunswick ; a distance of more than 40 Miles. Within the
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IN BURLINGTON.
memory of many Persons yet living, the Inhabitants of Trenton & the country for some distance round it were chiefly Members of the Church of England ; the few Dissenters that were among them were mostly Quakers, a people, in this Country, of all * Dissenters the most friendly to those of our Communion.
" In a former Letter I acquainted the Society that agreeably to my instructions, I had concluded with the People here to attend Divine Service of the two Churches of Burlington & Mount Holly alternately, upon condition, as stipulated in your Letter to the Wardens & Vestries of both Parishes that they of Mount Holly would contribute adequately to my support. They have since come to an Agreement & have agreed to give yearly at least £26 Currency, which I doubt not will be punctually paid & that they will exceed rather than fall short of that Sum. The Rents of the Parsonage Lot & House together with a Farm at some distance in the Country belonging to the Church in Burlington amount to &42: 10. in Currency ; besides which the Vestry at a late Meeting proposed to allow me as much as they should be able to procure by way of subscription from the Congregation.
" I am &c " JONN ODELL."
MARRIAGE OF THE REV. MR. FRAZER.
" July 13th, 1768. The Rev. Wm. Frazer of Amwell, and Rebecca Campbell of Burlington, were lawfully joined together in marriage at Burlington, by Jonathan Odell, minister." Par- ish Register.
A VOLUNTARY CONVENTION.
"A voluntary convention was held in New Brunswick Oct. 12th, 1768, at which were present among others the Rev'd. Messrs. Odell, Frazer, Thomson and Seabury, who, 'considering maturely the distressed situation of many of the widows and children of the Episcopal Clergy in America, who by reason of the smallness of their income are not only disabled from making any future provision for their families, but are scarcely able with the greatest economy to support them with a decency becoming their characters even during their lives,' agreed upon
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a scheme for their relief which they submitted to the Venerable. Society. The document containing the plan is quite an elabo- rate one, with sixteen articles."
MR. ODELL TO SOLICIT A CHARTER.
In 1769, the Rev. Mr. Odell was appointed one of a com- mittee, of two in each of the three provinces of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, to solicit the passing of the charter for the Corporation for the Relief of the Widows and Orphans of deceased clergymen, in said provinces. His Excellency, Gov. Franklin, of New Jersey, readily ordered the seal affixed to it, and the charter for New Jersey was completed in May of that year.
THE CORPORATION FOR THE RELIEF OF WIDOWS AND OR- PHANS OF CLERGYMEN, CHARTERED.
The charter for this Corporation constituted Rev. Richard Peters, of Phila., President, Rev. Thos. B. Chandler, D. D., of Elizabethtown, Treasurer, and Rev. Jonathan Odell, of Bur- lington, Secretary.
"The first Tuesday after the Feast of St. Michael, the charter day as fixed by the letters patent, fell in 1769, upon the 3d, October; and in that month of 'pathetic loveliness,' in the tran- quil town of Burlington, a place ever deserving the interest of Churchmen in America, as having been designated for the first American Episcopal See-where the first Episcopal residence was purchased, and where the first bishop who was ever on this continent resided-our Corporation first assembled. Clerical members had travelled from New York, Pennsylvania, and several parts of New Jersey, to be present; and among the representatives at this earliest meeting was John Lawrence, Esq., Mayor of Burlington. 'The President having taken the chair, the different charters were read and compared with each other. On the day following, the members who were met being nineteen in number, presented an address of thanks to his Excellency Gov. Franklin, which he answered with the warmest wishes for the success of the pious design for which the Corporation had been erected, and added that, it would always give him pleasure to render any acceptable service to the members of the Church of England.' This address and the
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IN BURLINGTON.
reply are set out in the early minute-book of the Society, kept with remarkable beauty of chirography by the first secretary Mr. Odell."t Wallace's Sketch, pp. 18-19.
THE CHURCH BUILDING ENLARGED.
In 1769, the building was extended Westward, with the addition of a gallery, and this, although the town itself had increased but little, if at all.
"The Society is informed by the Rev. Mr. Odell, that the Church at Burlington is completed, and is not only a comfort- able building, but an ornament to the place, being 63 feet by 33. Governor Franklin was very liberal on the occasion, and his lady has made them a present of a very rich and elegant furniture for the pulpit, desk and table."}
MRS. CAMPBELL'S ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. Mr. Odell to the Secretary. Extract. " Burlington, N. Jersey, April 6, 1769.
" REVEREND SIR :
" I have this moment received your very kind favor dated Decr 14, 1768, for which I beg you to accept my warmest thanks, together with those of Mrs Campbell who also takes the liberty through your hands of presenting her grateful acknowl- edgements to the Society for the favor done her in allowing her to draw for £25 over and above the Salary due to her late Hus- band at the time of his death.
" I am the more in haste to. dispatch this Answer to your obliging Letter because in my last Dec" 31st my concern for the Widow led me to express an apprehension that in the multipli- city of your more important affairs Mrs Campbell's Application to the Society had escaped your Notice. I therefore now seize
¡ Mr. Odell was Secretary of this Corporation from 1769 to 1774.
į A new bell also, was hung in the belfry. It is still (1876) rung, and bears this inscription : "ST. MARY'S CHURCH IN BURLINGTON. 1769."
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the opportunity offered me by Capt" Trent (who sets off in a few Hours) to beg your pardon for such a groundless apprehension. " I am Reverend Sir,
" Your most obedt Seryt
" JONN ODELL."
A FURTHER ADDITION TO THE BURYING-GROUND.
On the 5th of August, 1769, Doctor Jonathan Smith conveyed to the "Minister, Wardens, and Vestrymen of Saint Mary's Church " a " Piece of Ground bounded & limited as follows, viz., on the South by a Line, beginning at the North-East Cor- ner of the Burying-ground now belonging to Saint Mary's Church & running along the Fence, as it now stands on the North side of the said Burying-ground, to the North-West Cor- ner of the same; thence by a line running Northward fifteen foot along the Fence which now bounds the Western side of a Lott belonging to the said Jonathan Smith & adjoining to the North side of the Burying-ground aforesaid ; and thence by a straight line running Eastward to the Place of beginning," " Provided always (and it is the Consideration for which the Premises are granted & conveyed as aforesaid) that
* the said Minister Wardens & Vestrymen * shall within the space of five years next ensuing the date of these Presents, erect
upon the whole length of the Boundary Line last above mentioned, a good and sufficient Brick wall, five foot high & nine inches thick,
and that after the completion of the said wall, the said Jonathan Smith his Heirs and assigns shall be forever thereafter exempted from all Demands on account of Partition fences between his said Lott & the Burying-ground aforesaid." The "Indenture" for this, was "Sealed & delivered in presence of William Smith " and "Thomson Neale;" and acknowledged, the same day, before " Rob Smith one of the Judges of the Court of Comon Pleas for the County of Burlington."-Original Deed.
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IN BURLINGTON.
SIGNATURES OF ATTESTATION.
At the foot of each page of the Parish Register, beginning with the rectorship of Mr. Odell-for ten consecutive pages --- there is this :
"JONN ODELL Minister " Attested by
WILLIAM LYNDONt ABRM HEWLINGS Wardens."
" In the collections of the Sussex, (England) Archaeological Society,"-writes one who has examined them t-" I have found an explanation of the custom of the clergyman and church war- dens signing their names at the foot of the page in the Parish Register. I think your records are rare instances of it being done in this country, as it is not to be found in the Registers of Christ Church, Philadelphia."
" The writer in this article of the Sussex Collection, p. 23, Vol. xxii, the Rev. E. B. Ellman, M. A., says Church Registers ' date from the 30th year of the reign of Henry VIII. It is however much to be feared that notwithstanding Lord Crom- well's strict injunctions for the safe keeping of these valuable records, and the protestation which every incumbent was obliged to make when instituted to a benefice during the reign of Eliza- beth, that 'hee would keep the Register book according to the Queen's Majesty's Injunctions' much carelessness in their cus- tody during the reigns of Edward VI, Mary, and Elizabeth, comprehending a period of about 100 years, was found to have taken and some falsification to have been practised ; to prevent the possibility of which for the future, a reinforcement of Lord Cromwell's original injunctions of 1538, which had been lost sight of, became necessary ; and this was affected by means of the 70th Canon of our Church, which was ordained the first of James I (1603). By this Canon it was ordered that the Church Book shall be kept in the parish church in a coffer or chest, to be provided at the charge of each parish. These coffers were to be provided with three locks and the same number of keys, and of these keys one was directed to remain with the minister, and the other two with the churchwardens severally. And the Canon then goes on to direct that henceforth, upon every Sab- bath-day, immediately after morning or evening service, the minister and churchwardens should take the book, which was
t "William Lyndon, one of the Wardens of this Church, died on the 3d, and was buried on the 5th day of May, 1770; Burlington." Parish Register. į Mr. Wm. John Potts, of Camden, N. J.
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directed to be of parchment or of very stout paper, out of the coffer ; and in the presence of such wardens the minister was to write and record in it the names of all parties christened, to- gether with the names and surnames of their parents and also the names of all persons married or buried during the preceding week and the day and year on which any such event occurred. And having done this, they were again to replace the book in the coffer, and keep it until the next Sunday under the same regulation of locks and keys. Each page when filled was to be signed at the foot with their names. The Canon then further provides for attested copies of such entries being sent once in every year to the Bishop's Registry. These coffers were the origin of our Church chests, some of these chests indeed, were original coffers, having their treble locks and keys in a perfect and efficient state.' "
OFFERINGS FOR THE RELIEF OF WIDOWS AND ORPHANS OF DECEASED CLERGYMEN.
In 1770 there was a donation to the "Corporation for the Relief of the Widows and Orphans of Deceased Clergymen," from Governor Franklin, of £10; and a contribution from St. Mary's Church of £5, and 8s.
THE REV. GEO. WHITFIELD IN BURLINGTON.
In 1770, Craft's MS. of " Daily Occurrences " has this item : "6 mo. 16 dy. The great Calvinistic preacher George White- field, preacht before the Court House. Great audience. Deal of humour, &c."
" METHODISTIC EMISSARIES TAKING UNCOMMON PAINS."
Mr. Odell to the Secretary. Extract. " Burlington June 28, 1771. " REVEREND SIR, * " The state of Religion in general in my Mission continues to be not unpromising notwithstanding some incon- veniences arising from time to time among us from the frequent Visits that are made us by a number of methodistic Emissaries who are taking uncommon pains to get footing in this Country. I have hitherto been in hopes that their diligence may be de- feated by letting the Novelty pass without any open warmth of
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IN BURLINGTON.
opposition, which might inflame the weak but honest minded few, who for a while are apt to admire those Itenerants, but may be expected ere long to change their admiration into indiff- erence.
" I am Sir &c " JONN ODELL." A FELLOW OF ST. JOHN'S COLLEGE BURIED.
" Revd Mr Jonathan Downes, Late a Fellow of St John's College, and Rector of St Peter's in Barbados, was buried Oct" 14, 1771, at Burlington." Parish Register.
[This was a brother of Mrs. Franklin, the wife of the Governor.]
MARRIAGE OF THE REV. MR. ODELL.
" Married-May 6th 1772, Revd Jonathan Odell & Anne De Cou were married at Burlington by me-Wm Thomson Missy at Trenton." Parish Register.
PUBLICATION OF THE BANNS OF MARRIAGE.
Among the last few leaves of the Parish Register, there are two pages in the handwriting of Mr. Odell, headed, " Register of the Publication of the Banns of Marriage; " under which, from January 1768, to February 1773, there are entries of thirty couples " published "-each three successive times. One of these-as a sample of the rest-reads : "1770, Novem" 25th & Decem" 2ª & 9th-Thomson Neale & Mary Moon, both of Burlington."
MR. ODELL DECLINES THE CONTRIBUTION OF HIS CONGRE- GATION.
In the Report of the S. P. G.'s proceedings for 1773, there is this passage : " The Rev. Mr. Odell, who generously declined the intended contribution of his congregation at Burlington, until the debt contracted by rebuilding their Church should be discharged, acquaints the Society that this event hath taken place, and that the Vestry have now agreed to pay him for the future £30 currency, nearly equal to £19 sterling a year. The
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people at Mount Holly have been punctual in their payment of £26 currency, so that the whole Mission annually contributes about £35 sterling. [The Society paid &50 sterling.] He is in hopes of prevailing with his people to raise a sum of money among themselves, which, though but £100, might be put out to interest, and by accumulating would in time amount to such a sum as would support their minister with less assistance from the Society."
THE LOTS OF GROUND IN BURLINGTON. Mr. Odell to the Secretary. Extract. " Burlington July 5, 1774.
" REVEREND SIR,
" In answer to my request respecting the Lots of Ground in Burlington purchased by Gov" Hunter you are pleased to inform me 'that the Society how much soever they might be inclined to indulge me, in this request do not at present think themselves at liberty so to do ;' and that their doubts upon this head arise from a circumstance intimated in my Letter, the Lots in question being 'appropriated to the use of an Ameri- can Bishop whenever one shall be appointed ; and whence the profits arising from the Lands in the meantime are supposed to be also appropriated to the same use.' Whether this be so or not can be known as you observe only by having recourse to the original Deed of Conveyance. And 'if I can convince the Society, from thence, that the fact is otherwise and that the Society have the power, you kindly tell me in conclusion, that you believe I may depend upon their inclination to oblige me.'
" Whatever determination the Society may come to concerning this matter, the assurance of their inclination in my favor will be thankfully remembered by me ; for I can truly declare that I value the good opinion & approbation of that Venerable Body much more than I should value a meer addition to my income.
" The original Deed of Conveyance is I suppose in England : but there is a Copy of it upon Record here in the Provincial Sec- retary's Office from which it appears that those Lots are con- veyed to Gov" Hunter his Heirs & Assigns ' to and for the only proper use benefit and behoof of the Society for the propagation
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IN BURLINGTON ..
of the Gospel &c' without any manner of reserve or limitation. We have it is true in this Country a tradition, and only a tradi- tion (which however is I suppose founded in fact) that the pur- chase was made with a view of providing a place of Residence for an American Bishop, whose appointment seems to have been at that time daily expected. There was then upon one of the Lots in a pleasant situation a very large and commodious Man- sion House, which if the expected establishment of our Episco- pate had taken place would probably have been appropriated to the use of the Bishop. But as it happened, unfortunately for the interest of Religion in this Country, that the Society had not the opportunity of putting the House to that use ; they assigned it for a Dwelling House to Mr Weyman, their Missionary at Bur- lington, who lived in it, if I am rightly informed, until by some Accident, it took Fire and was entirely destroy'd. Mr Camp- bell, my immediate predecessor, succeeded Mr Weyman in the Mission, and was allowed to enjoy the Rents of the Ground for near 30 years, to the time of his death.
" I am Revd Sir &e " JONN ODELL."
DR. ODELL ADMITTED TO MEMBERSHIP IN THE MEDICAL. SOCIETY.
" At a general meeting of the New Jersey Medical Society, held at Princetown, November the 8th 1774, the Rev. Dr Odell presented himself a candidate for admission into this Society, who being well-known by many of the Society as a regular practitioner, t and being well recommended, he was, without the usual mode of examination, admitted unanimously a member, and took his seat accordingly.
" Voted, unanimously by this Board, that, as at the two pre- ceding meetings, motions have been made for an application to- the Governor of the Province for a Charter of Incorporation, for the members of this Society, they do now proceed with spirit in their endeavors to obtain it ; and for that end, do constitute and appoint Doctors Odell, Cochran and Barnet a committee to.
+ According to Craft's MS. of " Daily Occurrences,"' Dr. Odell began the prac- tice of Medicine in Burlington, July 25th, 1771.
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confer with the Attorney General, or any other gentleman who may assist them in the affair, and they are to endeavor to carry the design into execution in the most ample and expeditious way." Transactions of N. J. Medical Society, p. 37.
GOV. FRANKLIN REMOVES TO PERTH AMBOY.
"In 1774, Gov. Franklin removed to Perth Amboy. The task undertaken by a governor of one of the provinces of Great Britain was one of great difficulty. His difficulties were greatly increased by the persistent attempt of the king, and his minis- ters and parliament, to tax the people of the colonies, without the consent of their representatives, which they were resolute in resisting. He seems to have been an amiable man, and to have performed his duty, with so much forbearance and good temper as to have become quite as popular as any governor could be. He was earnest in his endeavors to promote the welfare of the province. He purchased and improved a farm, imported from England agricultural implements, and collected one of the best libraries in the province. He was a handsome and very agree- able man, abounding in facetious anecdote, and thus resembling his father. That father continued on good terms with him until the war was in active progress. His last visit to him was after he removed to Perth Amboy in 1774. They then discussed the controversy between the mother country and her colonies. They were far from agreeing. No man in America was more fully resolved upon resistance, at whatever cost, than the elder Frank- lin. The son, who disapproved the earlier measures of the British ministry, was still mindful of his oath as a royal gover- nor ; and remained a thorough government man, deeming the opposition of the colonists more mad than the measures of the ministry." Elmer's Biographical Sketches, p. 52.
FUND FOR MAINTAINING AN ORTHODOX MINISTER OF TIIE CHURCH OF ENGLAND.
" We the Subscribers do promise to pay, on Demand, into the hands of the Church Wardens of St Marys Church in Burling- ton, or Either of them, the Several Sums affixed to Our Names, in Order to establish a Fund for maintaining an Orthodox Min-
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