USA > New Jersey > Monmouth County > Old times in old Monmouth > Part 24
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grounds until I became a man, when I went on coasting voyages from here to New York; I was then about getting married, but in going to New York once I was pressed on board of a man-of-war and tak- en in Admiral Waren's ship to Cape Bre- ton. I never drank any rum, so they saved my allowance ; but I would not bear an affront, so if any of the officers struck me I struck them again, but the admiral took my part and called me his new-light man. When I reached Louisburg I ran away and traveled barefooted through the country and almost naked to New York, where I was known and supplied with clothes and money. and soon returned home, when I found my girl married. This rendered me unhappy, but I recovered my tranquility. and married her sister. I settled down to work and got forward quite fast ; con- structed a saw mill, possessed myself of this farm and five hundred acres of adjoin- ing land. I entered into navigation, own a sloop and have now got together a fair estate. I am, as I said, unable to read or write, but I am capable of reflection ; the sacred Scriptures have been often read to me, from which 1 gathered that there is a great and good Being who has preserved and protected me through innumerable dangers, and to whom we are all indebted for all we enjoy ; and as He has given me a house of my own I conceived I could do no less than to open it to the stranger, let him be who he would ; and especially if a traveling minister passed this way he al- ways received an invitation to put up at my house and hold his meetings here.
" I continued in this practice for more than seven years, and illiterate as I was I used to converse with them, and was fond of asking them questions. They pro- nounced me an odd mortal, declaring themselves it a loss what to make of me ; while I continued to affirm that I had but one hope ; I believed that Jesus Christ suffered death for my transgressions, and this alone was sufficient for me. At length my wife grew weary of having meetings held in her house, and I determined to build a house for the worship of God. I had no children, and i knew that I was beholden to Almighty God for everything which I possessed, and it seemed right I should appropriate a part of what He be- stowed for his service. My neighbors of- fered their assistance, 'But no,' said I, ' God has given me enough to do this work without your aid, and as he has put it in my heart to do so, so I will do.' 'And
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who,' it was asked, ' will be your preach- er ?' I answered, God will send me a preacher, and of a very different stamp from those who have heretofore preached " I trust he has." in my house. The preachers we have " Then how dare you hide this truth ?- heard are perpetually contradicting them- Do men light a candle and put it under a bushel. If God has shown you His salva- tion why should you not show it to your fellow men. But I know that you will, 1 am sure that God Almighty has sent you selves; but that God who has put it into my heart to build this house, will send one who shall deliver unto me his own truth ; who shall speak of Jesus Christ and his salvation. When the house was finished to us for this purpose. I am not deceived, sir, I am sure I am not deceived."
I received an application from the Bap- tists, and I told them if they could make it appear that God Almighty was a Bap- tist, I should give them the building at
once. The Quakers and Presbyterians re- had not ordained that this should come to ceived similar answers. No, said I, as I firmly believe that all mankind are equal- ly dear to Almighty God, they shall all be equally welcome to preach in this house which I have built. My neighbors assured me I should never see a preacher whose sentiments corresponded with my own, but I uniformly replied I assuredly would. I engaged for the first year with a man whom I greatly disliked; we parted, and " The wind will never change," said Pot- ter, " until you have delivered to us in that meeting house a message from God." for some years we have had no stated min- ister. My friends often asked me, ' where is the preacher of whom you spoke ?' and Murray still resolutely determined nev- er to enter any pulpit as a preacher, but being much agitated in mind asked to be shown to bed after he had prayed with the family. When they parted for the night, his kind host solemnly requested him to think of what he said. my constant reply, 'he will by and by make his appearance.' The moment, sir, I saw your vessel on shore it seemed as if a voice had audibly sounded in my ears, 'There, Potter, in that vessel, castaway on that shore, is the preacher you have so long been expecting.' I heard the voice and believed the report, and when you came up to my door and asked for the fish the same voice seemed to repeat, 'Potter, this is the man-this is the person whom I have sent to preach in your house !'"'
As may be supposed Murray was im- measurably astonished at Mr. Potter's nar- rative, but yet had not the least idea that his wish could ever be realized. He asked him what he could discern in his appear- ance to lead him to mistake him for a preacher. ' What,' said Potter, . could I discern when you were in the vessel that could induce this conclusion ? Sir, it is not what I saw or see, but what I feel which produces in my mind full conviction.' -- Murray replied that he must be deceived, as he should never preach in that place or anywhere else.
" Have you never preached-can you say you never preached ?"
" I cannot, but I never intend to preach again."
" Has not God lifted up the light of His countenance upon you ? Has he not shown you the truth ?""
Murray was much agitated when this man thus spoke on, and began to wonder whether or no God who ordains all things, pass, but his heart trembled, he tells us, at the idea. He endeavored, he says. to quiet his own fears and to silence the warm hearted old man by informing him he was supercargo of the vessel, that property to a large amount was entrusted to his care, and that the moment the wind changed he was under solemn obligations to de- part.
" Alas, says Murray, he need not have made this request; it was impossible to banish it from my mind; when I entered my chamber and shut the door, I burst in- to tears ; I felt as if the hand of God was in the events which had brought me to thus place, and I prayed most ardently that God would assist and direct me by his counsel."
So much exercised was he in mind that he spent the greater part of the night in praying and weeping, "dreading more than death, he says, supposing death to be an object of dread, the idea of engaging as a public character." In his writings he gives the substances of his meditations and prayers on that memorable night. In the morning his good friend renewed his solici- tations : " Will you speak to me and my neighbors of the things which belong to. our peace ?"
Murray seeing only thick woods, the tav- ern across the fields excepted, requested to know what he meant by neighbors.
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"O, sir, we assemble a large congrega- tion whenever the meeting house is open- ed; indeed when my father first settled here he was obliged to go twenty miles to grind a bushel of corn, but now there are more than seven hundred inhabitants within that distance."
Murray still could not be prevailed up on to yield, but Potter insisted and seemed positive the wind would not change until he had spoken to the people. Thus urged, Murray began to waver and at length he tells us he " implored God, who sometimes condescends to indulge individuals with tokens of his approbation, graciously to in- dulge me upon this important occasion, and that if it was His will that I should obtain my soul's desire by passing through life as a private individual, if such was not his will that I should engage as a preacher of the ministry, He would vouchsafe to grant me a wind as might bear me from this shore before another Sabbath. I de- termined to take the changing of the wind for an answer."
But the wind changed not, and towards the close of the Saturday afternoon he re- luetantly gave his consent to preaching the next day, and Mr. Potter immediately despatched his men on horse back to noti- fy the neighbors, which they were to con- tinue to do until ten o'clock in the even- ing. Mr. Murray appears to have had but little rest that night, thinking over the re- sponsibilities of the avocation he was so unexpectedly about to be engaged in, and of what he should say and how he should address the people; but the passage " Take no thought what ye shall say," etc., appears to have greatly relieved his mind. Sunday morning they proceeded to the church. Potter very joyful and Murray uneasy, distrusting his own abilities to re- alize the singularly high formed expecta- tions of his kind host. The church at that day is described as being "neat and con- venient, with a pulpit rather after the Quaker mode, with but one new pew and that a large square one just below the pul- pit in which sat the venerable Potter and his family and visiting strangers ; the rest of the seats were constructed with backs, roomy and even elegant." As Murray was preaching Potter looked up into the pul- pit, his eyes sparkling with pleasure, seem- ingly completely happy at the fulfillment of what he firmly believed a promise long deferred. We have no record of the sub- stance of this, the first Universalist ser- mon in America, nor of its impression up-
on any of the hearers save one-that one Thomas Potter himself, appears to have had all his expectations realized, and up- on their return home overwhelmed Mur- ray with his frank, warm-hearted congrat- ulations ; and soon visitors poured m .- Said Potter to them " This is the happiest day of my life ; there, neighbors, there is the minister God has sent me." Murray was so overcome by the old man's enthu- siastic demonstrations that he retired to his room and tells us he " prostrated him- self at the throne of grace, and besought God to take him and do with him what he pleased."
After a while he returned to the compa- ny and found the boatmen with them, who wished him to go on board immediately, as the wind was fair. So he was compelled to leave. His host was loth to part with him and exacted a promise from him to return, which he soon did, and preached often in the Potter church and other vil- lages. The first place he visited during this stay was Toms River. He relates two or three interesting scenes occurring here, in explaining to individuals his peculiar religious views. The next village he visit- ed was probably Mannahawkin, for though he does not mention the name, yet he speaks of a Baptist, preacher and church, of a family of Pangburns, &c., and there was then a Baptist church at that village, and the Pangburn family were then prom- inent members of it. (Lines Pangburn was a delegate from the Mannahawkin Baptist church to the Baptist General Association, in 1771. A man named Lines Pangburn was afterward killed by refugees at Man- nahawkin-probably the same one.)
For many years, and though travelling in various parts of the United States, yet as long as Thomas Potter lived, his house at Goodluck was considered by Murray as his home. At length, after being away some time upon a religious mission, he re- turned and found that his good old friend was dead ; his letter describing this visit. recounting some of the scenes of Potter's life, his traits of character, his own feel- ings, etc., is full of tender feeling and sin- cere grief, admirably expressed, and the substance of the discourse which he preached on that occasion, in that memor- able old chapel, is a touching specimen of Murray's eloquence. A brief extract will serve to give an idea of Murray's style and of his feelings towards his departed friend. His text was " For ve are bought with a price ; therefore glorify God in your body
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and in your spirit which are God's." To- wards the close of his discourse, pointing towards Potter's grave which could be seen from where he stood, he says :
" Through yonder open casement I be- hold the grave of a man, the recollection of whom swells my heart with gratitude, and fills my eyes with tears. There sleeps the sacred dust of him who well under- stood the advantages resulting from the public worship of God. There rests the ashes of him who glorified God in his body, and in his spirit, which he well knew were the Lord's. He believed he was bought with a price, and therefore he declared that all that he had and all that he was, were righteously due to God, who created and purchased him with a price, all price be- yond. There rests the precious dust of the friend of strangers, whose hospitable doors were ever open to the destitute, and him who had none to relieve his suffer- ings ; his dust reposes close to this edifice, itself a monument of his piety. Dear, faithful man, when last I stood in this place, he was present among the assembly of the people. I marked his glistening eye; it always glistened at the emphatic name of Jesus. Even now, I behold in imagination, his venerable countenance, benignity is seated on his brow, his mind, apparently open and confiding, tranquili- ty reposeth upon his features, every vary- ing emotion evincing faith in that endur- ing peace which passeth understanding .- Let us, my friends, imitate his philanthro- py, his charity, his piety. I may never meet you again until we unite to swell the loud hallelujahs before the throne of God. But to hear of your faith, of your persever- ance, of your works of charity, of your brotherly love, will heighten my enjoy- ments and soothe iny sorrows, even to the verge of mortal pilgrimage."
Potter in his will left the church to Mur- ray. The clause in his will reads, as given in Murray's life, as follows :
" The house was built by me for the worship of God ; it is my will that God be worshipped in it still, and for this purpose I will that my ever dear friend, John Mur- ray, preacher of the gospel, possess it, hav- ing the sole direction, disposal and man- agement of said house and one acre of land upon which it stands and by which it is surrounded."
It was Mr. Murray's desire as well as Mr. Potter's, that the church should be kept free to all denominations for the worship of God. In his sermon just quoted he
says : " Thomas Potter built this house that God might be worshipped without in- terruption, that he might be worshipped by all whom he should vouchsafe to send. This elegant house, my friends, the first friends who hailed my arrival in this coun- try, this house with its adjoining grove is yours. The faithful founder bequeathed it to me that none of you may be deprived of it," and in Mr. Murray's will he express- ly left it free to all denominations.
This church property is now under the control of the Methodists, the Universal- ists, though manifesting little or no dispo- sition to dispute their claim, yet contend that its sale was through "the mismanage- ment of the executor to satisfy illegal claims, &c." The Universalists held an interesting conference at the church, May 15th, 1833, which was attended by many of their leading preachers and laymen, and while there erected the tombstone over Potter's grave, which yet marks the spot where he was buried. The ceremony was quite impressive. Rev. A. C. Thomas delivering an appropriate discourse, after which a hymn composed for the occasion. was sung among other exercises. This conference, while there, adopted a circular letterto their churches generally, in which, among other things they say : " We have been on a mission of love and gratitude, have assembled in the ancient house of our Fathers, have convened around the grave of the venerated Potter, and dropped a tear of grateful remembrance on the spot where repose his ashes, etc.," and then earnestly invite their brethren from the East and from the West, from the North and from the South to unite with thera "in an annual pilgrimage to this sacred spot-this Holy Land, in order that we may all receive a little of the Godlike spirit of benevolence which warmed the soul of that man of God, and friend of man, Thomas Potter.
Their earnest and feeling appeal to their brethren to make this annual pilgrimage, however, has met with a very feeble re- sponse, though since the time that John Murray delivered his first sermon in Sep- tember, 1770, the churches of his follow- ers have increased to perhaps twelve hun- dred, yet only once in a long while does one of their members make this pilgrim- age to this 'Holy Land ;' when they do and express a desire to preach, the doors are thrown open to them, and as long as the trustees are thus liberal to them as well as other denominations, they cer-
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tainly can have no occasion to question the title.
The substance of the foregoing account is derived from Everett's life of Murray and from writings of Murray himself. The warm unqualified endorsement of the char- acter of Murray, as a man, by such noble hearted men as General Greene of Revolu- tionary fame, and others who knew him, well show that implicit reliance can be placed upon his statements. In 1832. the Rev. A. C. Thomas visited Toms River and Goodluck, and in both places found per- sons who had listened to Murray in their youth, and cherished the faith they heard from him, and he conversed with several who remember having heard the circum- stances related by Murray of his first meet- ing with Potter, corroborating Murray's statements.
Before dismissing the subject it may not be amiss to add that one tradition of the origin of the name of Goodluck, as applied to this village, is that when Murray was looking for provisions on his first arrival, and finding Potter so kind and open heart- ed, and the magnificent groves of pine so suited to his meditative mind, he exclaim- ed : 'Good Luck !' that I have found such a place and such a man. (There is anoth- er tradition of the name of Goodluck Point, near Toms River, which is different from the origin of Goodluck village.)
An old gentleman brought up in the vi- cinity of the church, whose father was a neighbor and friend of Thomas Potter, stated that he often heard his father re- late Potter's story of the naming of the place on this account ; that in relation to Potter being carried off by a man of-war, he was gone so long the neighbors thought him dead, and the girl to whom he was to be married, thinking so also, she had mar- ried another man just before his return ; that Potter often told his neighbors, after he built the church, that God would send a minister after his own heart, and that in Murray he found fulfilled his long defer- red expectations.
THE CENTENARY OF UNIVERSALISM.
The one hundredth anniversary of the introduction of Universalism into the Uni- ted States was celebrated by a large con vocation of clergy and members of the So- ciety at Gloucester Mass., in September, 1870; and the week following, on Sept. 28th, memorial exercises conducted by that
Potter Church at Goodluck. The exer- cises consisted of praying, singing, address by Mr. Ballou, of Philadelphia, &c., after which the congregation were dismissed until one o'clock, when the grave of Mr. Potter the founder, of the church, was dec- orated with appropriate ceremonies. For- ty years ago Rev. A. C. Thomas caused a wooden fence to be put around Potter's grave ; on the centenary occasion this was removed and a neat iron fence substituted.
The following letter from Rev. A. C. Thomas, to the Editor of the New Jersey' Courier, giving some interesting details of the celebrations at Gloucester and Good- luck, and also items in the rise and pro- gress of the Society, is worthy a place in the history of the church :
THOMAS POTTER AND JOHN MURRAY.
Mr. Editor :- In behalf of many Univer- salists, I thank you for your late fair and liberal article respecting Thomas Potter, of Good Luck, and the Rev. John Murray .-- We expect no man to endorse the state- ments of the latter, as recorded in his au tobiography ; nor the traditional accounts of his remarkable interview with the tor- mer; but we are happy to know that the time has arrived for a truly catholic repre- sentation of our history as a people, as il- lustrated recently in your columns.
In one item you were misinformed. We had no expectations of large "delegations" of our members at the late celebration in Goodluck. Our centenary had been at- tended the week previously in Gloucester, Mass., the number present being variously estimated from ten thousand to fifteen thousand, including two hundred and fil- ty out of our six hundred and fifty clergy- men. It was the date of the stated annual session of our General Convention, and was appointed to be held in Gloucester under the following circumstances.
In 1770 a Mr. Gregory, presumably a mariner, brought from London to Glou- cester a book written by Rev. James Relly, in advocacy and defence of the doctrine of the restoration of all souls, in the Lord's own time and way. This book was passed from hand to hand, and made happy con- verts of a number of influential, religious people.
It would require no great stretch of the imagination to date the landing of that book on the 28th of September, of the year named ; and on that day Rev. John Mur- father in the church, Rev. Abel C. Thom- | ray, a disciple of Relly (in the sense that as, of Philadelphia, was held at the old | Relly was a disciple of Christ) landed on
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the coast of New Jersey, as narrated in your recent article.
After an extended missionary service in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New Eng- land, Murray was for the second time in Boston in 1774. Having heard of him as a disciple of Relly, the Gloucester people sent for him. He accepted the invitation, the visit being a meeting of the lines of providence in the case. Here he after- wards settled as pastor, his meetings for worship being held in private houses until 1788. In that year a meeting house was erected, and a more pretensious one in 1805. The old building was then sold and devoted to secular uses in the village. Ten years later it was removed to a farm about two miles distant, and since that time has been used as a hay-barn.
In 1804 Murray removed to Boston, and his successor in Gloucester, Rev. Thomas Jones, for forty-two years was minister of the parish, dying in 1846.
During the session of our General Con vention last week, we had a memorial ser. vice at the old church barn, and also at the grave of Father Jones, the latter be- ing marked by a huge granite obelisk in the Cemetery.
The late great convocation in Glouces- ter antedated the landing of Murray by the space of one week; and a few of us determined to spend the exact centenary at Goodluck. This was what took us there ; and there, precisely one hundred years from the landing of Murray, we held a memorial service in the old church, and also at the grave of Thomas Potter-the order being substantially the same that we had used in Gloucester. The only change was in this : " We strew this evergreen and these flowers in memory and honor of Thomas Potter, the friend and patron of John Murray, our early preacher of Uni- versalism in America."
After a brief address by the Rev. Abel C. Thomas, who conducted the services, the following hymn was sung, and the ser- vice proceeded in the order given below.
Whilst far and wide thy scattered sheep, Great Shepherd, in the desert stray, Thy love by some is thought to sleep, Unheedful of the wanderer's way.
But truth declares they shall be found. Wherever now they darkling roam, Thy love shall through the desert sound, And summon every wanderer home.
Upon the darkened ways of sin, Instead of terror's sword and flame,
Shall love descend-for love can win
Far more than terror can reclaim
And they shall turn their wandering feet, By grace redeemed, by love controlled, Till all at last in Eden meet, One happy, universal fold.
All the ends of the world shall remem- ber and turn unto the Lord, and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship be- fore thee :
For the kingdom is the Lord's and he is the. Governor among the nations.
Send forth thy light and thy truth, O Lord ; let them lead us and bring us to thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles, even unto God our exceeding joy.
Thou wilt show us the path of life : in thy presence is fulness of joy : at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.
How amiable are thy tabernacles, O Lord of Hosts! My soul longeth, yea. even fain eth for the courts of the Lord :
My heart and my flesh crieth out for the liv- ing God.
As the sparrow findeth a house, and the swallow a nest for herself where she may hide her young, so let me dwell at thine altars, O Lord of Hosts, my King and my God.
Blessed are they who dwell in thy house : they will be still praising thee.
A day in thy courts is better than a thousand elsewhere : I had rather be a door-keeper in the house of my God than to dwell in the tents of ungodliness.
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