USA > New Jersey > Passaic County > Preakness and the Preakness Reformed Church : a history 1695-1902 : with genealogical notes, the records of the church and tombstone inscriptions > Part 10
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David's older brother, Johannes, who remained in the States,
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married Maria Westervelt, and had one son, Jacob, b. January 21, 1790, who afterwards went to New York to live.
Richard Bensen, b. October 28, 1797, the grandson of Hans, and son of David, was a blacksmith by trade. For many years he lived in a house which, until recently, after the city was laid out, stood in Water street, between the West street and Main street bridges ; and, as he prospered in his business, he accumulated land in Totowa, a few acres at a time, until he had in all about one hundred acres, a tract which he afterwards sold to the city of Pat- erson, and which is now known as the Paterson City Poor House Farm. A year or two, or three, however, before selling this tract, Richard Bensen moved to his father-in-law's place on the left bank of the Passaic, above the falls and near Lincoln Bridge, where eight or ten years later he died, (January 29, 1875).
Richard Bensen, of Totowa, married Ann Zabriskie, (b. Au- gust 22, 1802, d. November 18, 1877), and had children :
David, b. October 7, 1823; Rachel Ann; John, b. October 30, 1829, died young; Albert, b. December 19, the Church records say December 14, 1831; John, b. June 21, 1839; Elizabeth; Cor- nelius, b. June 21, 1843 ; Richard.
About the time the city of Paterson bought the Bensen farm, David, the eldest son of Richard, in 1865, removed to Preakness, and the next year his brother Albert came, the former settling on the old Martin Van Winkle place, a quarter of a mile or so south of the parsonage; and the latter on the Cornelius Kip place, just north of it, and adjoining the parsonage lot.
David Bensen, son of Richard, m. Jane Van Houten, of Pat- erson, and his children are :
Richard D., m. Anna H. Ackerman, of Dundee Lake; Ella; Albert D., (generally called "Junior," in distinction from his uncle Albert), m. Kate Van Dalinda, of Paterson ; Cornelius D., m. Jen- nie Walling, of Preakness ; Charity Ann ; Jennie, dec'd.
Father and sons live on adjoining farms. None of the daugh- ters married. Jennie died November 23, 1891.
Albert Bensen, Sr., brother of David, m. Sophia Stagg, of Preakness. His children are:
Anna, m. J. W. Hinchman, of Preakness; John Albert, m. Addie H. Gregory, of Haledon; Mary, m. Robert S. Martin, of Preakness ; Richard, m. Kittie Neill, of Paterson. Richard lives in Paterson. John A. occupies the homestead with his parents. Both
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David and Albert Bensen have at different times served in the Consistory of this Church, and Albert is still serving as Elder.
Warren Mitchell, who married Elizabeth Blain, came to Lower Preakness in the spring of 1864 or 1865. He originally hailed from New Hampshire; but came here directly from Wayne County, Pennsylvania. He first occupied the place now owned by his son Warren B., east of the Dey homestead, and a few years later, thirty years ago or more, bought the J. G. R. Van Winkle place, of the lat- ter's son, which place he occupied until his death. Mr. Mitchell . served for a while as Elder in this Church, but subsequently changed his church relations, and worshiped at Little Falls. His surviving children are :
Mary, m. Henry Van Houten; Warren B., m. Delia -; Emma, unmarried ; Myra, unmarried; Ira A., m. Anna Ryerson ; Abby, m. Rev. George W. Furbeck.
Warren Mitchell had a brother Marshall, who was killed in the woods of Wayne County, Penn., by a limb or tree falling on him. Marshall Mitchell's wife's name was Lucinda A. They had a son Warren A., who for years has been a resident of Preakness, and a daughter Lydia, who married J. A. Jacobus. Mrs. Warren A. Mitchell's name was Hattie I. Allen. There are several children : Ida, Ada, and Nettie.
Isaac W. Blain, brother of Warren Mitchell's wife, Elizabeth, came to Preakness in 1867, from Vermont. Mr. Blain bought and for many years occupied what was known as the Cornelius Kip place, in Lower Preakness. Ever since he has been in Preakness, he has been a strong supporter of the Church, and a particular friend of the minister.
Henry Gibb, who married Margaret Munn, of Glasgow, Scot- land, came from there to New York in 1857; from New York to Paterson in 1866, and a year later, in 1867, to Preakness, where Mrs. Gibb, in 1889, died, and where Mr. Gibb yet remains with their one child, Harry, who married Josephine Weyman. These people were Scotch Presbyterians; but while Mrs. Gibb could get around, (she was about twenty years an invalid), they had sittings in, and attended, the Preakness Church. Mrs. Gibb, however, after being incapacitated, in her own way did considerable unos- tentatious Christian work, especially among the young people, who were drawn to her, and at one time had a Sunday School in her own home. She was a woman of refinement and culture, of energy and piety.
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William H. Birchenough came to Preakness as a young man from Paterson, in 1869. His father's name was John, who came to Paterson from England in 1852, and lived there until the clos- ing years of his life, which he spent with his son's family. William H. Birchenough m. (1) Mary Jane Daniel ; (2) Mrs. Effie Tout, nee Van Duyn, of Montville, N. J. He had four children by his first wife: Harry, Frank, dec'd, Louisa, Mary. And six by his second wife: Ruth, Arthur, John, dec'd, Ella, dec'd, Robert, dec'd, Alice. Mr. Birchenough has generally been interested in the political affairs of the township and county, and has held some of- fices.
Robert Martin, Sr., father of the late Robert Martin, (d. July 20, 1902), came to Preakness about 1841. He first lived near where David F. Duncan's present tenement house stands, then for a while where August Dotterweich now lives, until he bought where the family has since lived, near Mr. Duncan's. Mr. Martin's wife's name was Sarah Clark. His children were: Robert, Jane, James, John, Elizabeth, Mary, Sarah. Robert, Jr., the eldest, remained on the homestead. He married Hester Sutcliffe. His children are : Frank, m. Emma M. Van Riper, dec'd; Robert S .; Erminie, dec'd ; Walter, died young; Margaret ("Daisy"). Frank has had seven children, six of whom are living, and Robert S., who married Mary Bensen, has had three, two of whom are living.
David F. Duncan, b. 1846, in Paterson, who married Septem- ber 7, 1868, Elizabeth Graham, of North Haledon, came to Preak- ness on February 2, 1870, and located where he has since remained, on what was then the John Hinchman place, but which before that had been known as the William H. Hopper place. The John Hinchman here referred to was the son of Robert, the brother of James, and the son of John S. Hinchman, M. D., of Vernon. David F. Duncan has but one child, Linnie Jane, who, May 24, 1898, married Charles Frederick Day, son of J. Frank Day, for- merly of Preakness, now of Brooklyn, and who, with his wife and two children, now makes his home with his father-in-law.
Mr. Duncan's father was James Duncan, who came to Amer- ica from Scotland, and his mother was Jane Torbet, a sister of Hon. Robert M. Torbet, and daughter of Francis Torbet. He has been and is much interested in educational matters, first in the district and latterly in the township, having been generally school trustee, but now one of the Board of Education for Wayne Township.
Henry Vail, born in England, son of John Vail, (who arrived
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in this country and settled in Brooklyn, when Henry was a year old), came to Preakness with his family from Fairfield, Essex County, about 1871, and settled, a mile or so west of the parsonage, on the farm on which he afterwards lived and died, and which he bought of Van Dien Benson. Mr. Vail, during his residence in Preakness, was prominent and influential in township and school affairs. His wife was Leah Ellen Budd, of Two Bridges. Mr. Vail's death occurred on December 2, 1901. Six daughters are liv- ing: Mary Anna, for several years our Church Organist, m. John S. Post; Louisa Ethlen, a professional nurse; Sarah B., m. Augus- tus Mowel; Kate B., her twin sister, our present Church Organist; Fanny Irene, m. Fred Berdan, son of James D. Berdan; and Lena. All make their home in Preakness, except the eldest, who lives in Paterson, and Louisa Ethlen. Kate B. lives with the Mowels, above the homestead, on the hill. Mr. and Mrs. Berdan occupy the homestead, and Mrs. Vail and her youngest daughter make their home with them.
About thirty years ago Philip H. Kamp, of New York City, bought of the late John De Witt, the farm lying south of the James D. Berdan farm, in Upper Preakness. Mr. Kamp imme- diately removed his family to this locality, and spent the rest of his days here. He died November 22, 1900, aged seventy-five years. Mrs. Kamp, who was Rachel Washburn, is still living. Children:
1. Priscilla, m. William Winters.
2. Ella, m. Joseph Marion.
3. Arthur, m. Ada Post.
4. Irene, m. John Ackerman.
5. Charlotte, unmarried.
William Cahill came here with a large family from Stock- holm, N. J., in 1872, and purchased of Benjamin Magie, who had owned it about seven years, what was known as the Schuyler farm, once the homestead part of the old Cornelius Merselis property, in Upper Preakness. The Cahill family is now much scattered, but the widow, with her youngest daughter, Jennie, together with a grandson, Isaac, remain on the homestead. Children :
1. Martin, m. Elizabeth Williams.
2. Edward, m. Ella Till.
3. Sarah Francis, m. John Williams, brother of Elizabeth.
4. Arminda, m. Whitfield Van Houten.
5. Mary, m. William Brown.
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6. Alice, m. Frank Mabee.
7. Elizabeth, m. Henry J. Post.
8. Clara, dec'd; unmarried.
9. Charlotte, m. Joseph A. Roome.
10. Emma, unmarried.
11. Jennie.
: 12. William, m. Alice Matthews.
The homestead part of the old Johannes De Riemer (Dore- mus) place, in Lower Preakness, afterwards the Samuel Van Saen, and then the D. D. Demarest place, in 1874, was bought of Mr. Floyd, by John H. Weyman, (d. July 28, 1892), who at that time came from Paterson to Preakness to live. Mr. Weyman married Catharine Ochs, born in Germany, and had four children. One daughter, Catharine, m. William Wolf, of Brooklyn. Another, Jo- sephine, m., in 1886, Harry Gibb, of Preakness. Still another, La- vinia, in 1891, m. Aaron Laauwe, who has since occupied, and now owns, the place.
William Laauwe, father of Aaron and other children, came from Holland to Paterson June 10, 1866, lived in Paterson a year or so, when he came to Preakness, and in 1880 bought and moved on the farm back of the Weyman place, and which originally had belonged to it. He is now again in Paterson, having sold his farm to Fred Sikkema.
John Grundy, who married Anna Potts, came with his wife from Cheshire, England, to America in 1869. He was for a while in Newark, about a year in Bloomfield, two years in Paterson, and a year at Franklin Lake, when he came with his family to Preak- ness, and after a year or two bought and settled on Preakness Mountain on what was known as the Petry place, which is still the family home. Children : Herbert, dec'd, Absalom, Louis, Samuel, Anna, Lyman William, Elizabeth, Arthur. Absalom is the princi- pal of the Haledon High School. Anna is a trained nurse. Eliza- beth is a teacher in the Haledon High School. Mr. Grundy has been a silk weaver ; but at present makes a specialty of fruit raising.
J. Frank Day and family came to Preakness before 1879. Mr. Day taught school in Upper Preakness for several years, and also afterwards, while still living in Preakness, taught two or three years in Bloomingdale. Latterly he farmed. While here, as will be noticed elsewhere in this work, Mr. Day was prominent in Church and Sunday School affairs. His brother Alfred and family likewise lived in Preakness several years. Mr. Day, in 1892, went
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to Brooklyn to live, where, however, he had lived already for a time, before coming to Preakness. He was soon followed by his brother Alfred's family. Another brother, Doctor Day, had taught school in Upper Preakness before J. Frank taught. His home has been in Brooklyn for many years. The father of these brothers and of at least two daughters was Anthony L. Day, of Stockholm, N. J. Charles Frederick Day, son of J. Frank, married David F. Duncan's only daughter.
In 1878, Daniel C. Winters, of Camp Gaw, bought the Richard J. Berdan place, so called, in Lower Preakness, and came to Preak- ness to live. George W. Winters, his son, who married Ella How- ard of Fairfield, now lives on the place with his family. Charles W. Winters, another son, married Nellie Benson, daughter of Rich .. ard D., and lives at Mountain View.
The family of William H. Mowel, consisting of himself, wife, and three sons, Augustus, Christopher, and Rud Gue, came from New Paltz, Ulster County, N. Y., to Preakness November 4, 1879, to take charge of the plant of the Rend Rock Powder Company, which, for a number of years, had been located in the western part of Preakness, among the hills; but which, after being blown up in 1893, was transferred to the vicinity of Tarrytown, N. Y., where the main works are situated. Mr. and Mrs. Mowel, a year or two later, removed to Pine Brook, and their youngest son and daughter- in-law to Newark, although all four, as well as Christopher and his family, are at present (1902) living in Newark. Augustus, the oldest son, in 1889, m., as we have seen, Sarah B. Vail, of Preak- ness, and remains here. He has served several terms as Deacon of this Church, for a year as Treasurer, and another year, (April, 1896-7), as Clerk.
A. E. Anderson, who came originally to this country from Sweden, has been a resident of Preakness for about twenty-one years. Fourteen years ago he married Mrs. Susan C. Kimble, nee Fredericks, of Stockholm, N. J., and has since lived on the old John (son of Edo) Merselis, afterwards the Mindert Maby, and later the Garret P. Haring place, in Upper Preakness. He has several children. Mrs. Anderson, who had several children also by her first husband, is the great-granddaughter of D. D. Hennion's daughter Eleanor, who married Henry Frederick. Henry Freder- ick had a son John, who had a son James. I., the father of Mrs. Anderson. Isaac W. Blain has for several years made his home with the Anderson family.
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George Van Houten came to Lower Preakness from Totowa in 1891, buying the farm which Albert Terhune owned, and had lived on for a number of years. Mr. Van Houten's father's name was Henry I. Van Houten, of Totowa, who married Ann B. Dore- mus, and whose children were:
1. Elizabeth, m. John Wilson.
2. Richard, m. Hester L. Jacobus.
3. Margaret, m. James A. J. Bogert, and they were the par- ents of Mrs. C. K. Berry. Mrs. Bogert, after the death of her hus- band, married again, and became the second wife of John Wilson, widower.
4. John, m. Jane Elizabeth Bogert.
5. Sarah, m. Ephraim M. Van Ness.
6. George, m. Maria C. Newkirk.
7. Henry, m. Mary Mitchell, daughter of Warren.
8. Catharine A., m. Martin H. Berry.
George Van Houten's and Maria C. Newkirk's children are :
(1) Henry, m. Ellen Fletcher.
(2) Edward, m. Ida Mitchell, daughter of Warren A.
(3) Annie, m. Alvin Decker.
(4) Minnie, m. Charles Devor.
(5) Mattie, m. Lambert J. Van Vessen.
(6) Lavinia, unmarried.
(7) Tillie, dec'd.
In this connection, as our work goes to press, we insert a few Van Houten records, just found in an old Dortrecht Bible, 1736, at George R. Berdan's, in Lower Preakness. Others can follow them down as they see fit. The records are as follows:
1741, June 23, Gerrebrand Van Houten married Jannetje Syp.
1742, July 10, O. S., son Derrick born.
1746, July 19, O. S., daughter Gerritje born.
1749, February 4, O. S., daughter Metje born.
Garrabrandt Van Houten died April 23, 1789.
Derrick Van Houten died December 1, 1810.
Jacob H. Nellis, a Palatine descendant, came to Preakness in the fall of 1899, from Canajoharie, N. Y., and, with his family, consisting, besides himself, of his wife and four children, has since occupied the Isaac W. Blain farm in Lower Preakness. Mrs. Nel-
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lis was Clara L. Ostrom, of Glen, N. Y. Children: Louise, Mar- garet, Joseph, Anna.
Many families, both early and late, for want of time and space, we are obliged to pass over, except as they are mentioned, or indi- viduals in them are mentioned, in the body of the work, or in the Church records.
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CHAPTER IV.
EARLY PREACHING, PREACHERS, AND CHURCHES, IN THE NEIGHBOR- HOOD OF PREAKNESS.
According to the Memorial Discourse of Rev. J. V. N. Schenk, delivered at the opening and dedication of the Reformed Church at Pompton Plains November 22, 1871, "The first preaching any- where in this region, of which we have positive record, was at the Ponds, about the year 1710, by Rev. Guilliam Bertholf, who, in 1694, was settled over the Churches of Aquackanonk and Hacken- sack, and remained there for about thirty years, or until his death." Dr. Corwin, in his Manual, tells us that Bertholf, for the first fif- teen years of his ministry, was the only Dutch preacher in New Jersey. He had, in fact, the spiritual charge of all the Dutch inhabitants of the State. He officiated regularly, through his whole ministry, at all the surrounding churches, even at Tarrytown, on the east side of the Hudson. He was, in his day, the itinerant apostle of New Jersey. His connection with the Ponds Church was only as stated or occasional supply, with some other brethren from the City of New York and vicinity, who, at far separated in- tervals, probably rendered all the services enjoyed in that church, from 1710-24.
From the Historical Discourse of Rev. William B. Van Ben- schoten, of Wyckoff, in 1869, we learn that Bertholf came to Hack- ensack with the early immigrants from Holland, in the capacity of voorleser, or catechizer, and schoolmaster. The Church at Hack- ensack was already organized (1686), but as yet had no pastor. Bertholf led in their services, and so pleased the people, that they desired him to go to Holland to be licensed and ordained as their minister, which he did, the congregation paying his expenses. He was licensed and ordained by the Classis of Middleburg, as pastor of the Churches of Hackensack and Acquackanonk September 16, 1693, his labors not beginning until the following year. This, ac- cording to Corwin, (Manual p. 24, Third Edition), was the first example of the kind in the Dutch Church in America, if we except the case of Samuel Megapolensis, 1658, who was sent over pri- vately by his father. The name Acquackanonk, in the Indian
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tongue, according to Van Benschoten, means "a place where gum blocks were made, or procured, for grinding corn,"-gum wood being a species of very hard wood, from which also husking pegs were once made. Nelson's definition, however, is "near where fishing is done with a bush net." It is said of Bertholf, "that he was in possession of a mild and placid eloquence, which persuaded by its gentleness, and attracted by the sweetness which it distilled, and the holy savor of piety which it diffused around." (Corwin's Manual.)
The domine was likewise a farmer in a small way, having pur- chased of John Berry, of Hackensack, thirty-seven acres of land May 4, 1697, lying near Hackensack ; and this was most probably his home. He died in 1724, leaving a numerous family of chil- dren. One or two of his sons settled near Ponds, and all of the name of Bartolph, in Bergen County, are his descendants. (Van Benschoten.) Rev. J. H. Bertholf, at present one of the ministers of our Church, is one of his descendants.
The first building used for divine worship in this section, was a log church, situated just south of the new part of the present, or on the old burying ground at the Ponds. But when erected, or how long thus employed, we cannot tell. Before its destruction, how- ever, it is known to have been used as a cattle shed. It was the first, and for years, the only church building in New Jersey, above the Passaic River, or north of Acquackanonk; and in the time of Rev. Henricus Coens, successor of Bertholf, was called the church "to noorde, i. e., on the north. There were no churches of any denomination at this date either in Rockland or Orange counties, New York, except the one at Tappan.
The Rev. Henricus Coens came to Acquackanonk in 1725, and, together with that church, served Second River, (Belleville), and Pompton, (Pompton Plains),-an out-station of the Ponds Church since 1713,-until 1730; when, for five years, from 1730 to 1735, he likewise served Ponds, until his death February 14, 1735.
Dr. Messler, in his "Memorial Sermons and Historical Notes," p. 254, says :
"Henricus Coens seems to be as little known as almost any minister who has ever exercised his gifts in the Dutch Church. His name does not occur in any of the published documents which we have seen ; nor are we able to state when he came from Holland. It must have been as early as 1725, for in that year he is found min- istering in the Churches of Acquackanonk, Belleville, Pompton and
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Ponds ; and he continued his ministry among these people for five years. He wrote to Holland a detailed account of the troubles in the Churches of Acquackanonk and Belleville, (or Second River, as it then was called). He died in 1735; but when and where his remains were interred, we are not able to say. His ministry and death both antedate our published minutes, and hence there is no- trace of him excepting the record of the churches where he labored."
The next minister at Acquackanonk was the Rev. Johannes Van Driessen, who came there from Kinderhook, N. Y., September 10, 1735, in connection with Pompton (Pompton Plains) ; while he also served Ponds and some other churches as stated supply until 1748.
After Acquackanonk and Ponds, in this section, was Fairfield, (Horse Neck), organized, 1720; Pompton, (Pompton Plains), 1736 ; although there had been preaching there, (perhaps in school- houses or dwellings), for nearly twenty-five years; First Totowa, 1756; Montville, or Persippany, 1756; and Stone House Plains, 1801.
The people of Preakness in those early times, attended religious service in their order most likely in all these churches, according to locality, except possibly, Montville, or Persippany.
In William Nelson's "History of the Old Dutch Church at Totowa" (page 10), we are informed that when only the Churches. of Acquackanonk and Ponds were in existence, Totowa, Paterson, Preakness and Pompton Plains, were represented in the Acquacka- nonk Consistory by the Van Gysens, Peterses, Vreelands, Van Win- kles, Van der Becks, etc. In 1719, David Hennion, (David Daniel- son Hennion), from Upper Preakness, was elected Deacon in that Church, and in 1730, Cornelis Doremus, who settled in Preakness in 1723, (Georges Du Remos, was the one who was a partner with Cornelius Kip), was elected Deacon in the same Church.
The Church at Fairfield, or Horse Neck, organized 1720, for forty years, until 1760, was supplied only by neighboring pastors, among them Bertholf, Coens, Van Driessen, and Marinus, the min- isters of Acquackanonk, Ponds, and Pompton, and the last also of Totowa ; and perhaps likewise for a little while by G. Du Bois, who was pastor at Acquackanonk 1724-6, and C. Van Santvoord, who was settled at Second River (Belleville) 1730-2.
Dr. Welles informs us ("Pastor and Church," pp. 61, 62), that at the organization of the Reformed Church of Pompton, or Pomp- ton Plains, and until 1748, all the region of country within the
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bounds of the congregations of Pompton, Pompton Plains, Ponds, Preakness, Montville, Fairfield, Little Falls, Totowa and Paterson, formed one ministerial charge, Bertholf, Coens and Van Driessen being the ministers.
After the old log church at the Ponds fell into disuse, when Van Driessen, the successor of Coens, came, in 1735, who styled himself "ordinary minister at Acquackanonk, and extraordinary at Pompton," the country had so settled up, and the people were in so much better circumstances, that a small new church was built for the accommodation of both these congregations,-i. e., Ponds and Pompton, or Pompton Plains,-near the Pompton Steel Works, or rather between the Colfaxes and Pompton Lock, at the junction of the Pequannock and Pompton rivers, where there was a convenient ford. This church was dedicated by the pastor April 2, 1736. His text for the occasion was a singular one: Song of Solomon, 1:7,8, "Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon ; for why should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions? If thou know not, O fairest among women, go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock, and feed thy kids beside the shepherds' tents." (Van Benschoten) .
The new church was organized as the Reformed Church of Pompton by the election of Peter Post and Paulus Van der Beck as Elders, and John Hennion and Martin Berry as Deacons. Pomp- ton is an Indian name, meaning, as Van Benschoten says, " 'crooked mouth,' having reference to the Ramapo and Ringwood, or Wa- naque, emptying into the Pompton River." Nelson, however, says, there is no basis for this meaning,-that the meaning of Pompton is not at all clear. Mrs. Terhune (Marion Harland) says Pompton means, "a meeting of the waters."
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