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 15
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HISTORY OF · PREAKNESS
When the Classis of Passaic was organized, and had its first meeting in June, 1839, at Pompton Plains, it consisted of the
1 Churches of Pompton Plains, Pompton, Ponds, Preakness, Wyckoff, Stone House Plains, Montville; Fairfield, and Little Falls-a little more than half the size it is now, that is, so far as the number of Churches is concerned. The ministers of these Churches at that time were Revs. G. C. Schanck (Pompton Plains), I. S. Demund (Pompton), Z. H. Kuypers (Pond, Preakness and Wyckoff), A. C. Hillman (Stone House Plains), (Montville was without a pastor), and Joseph Wilson (Fairfield and Little Falls). All these Churches and brethren were from the Classis of Bergen. Revs. Schanck and 0) Demund opposed the organization, because the Churches were all small, and some of them missionary Churches, but they were over- ruled. (Cruikshank.)
Domine Kuypers, as all the other ministers were, was present at that meeting, and was the first to sign the formula, and hence his name is the first one that was ever on the roll of this Classis. He was the oldest minister 'present, and, of course, the oldest one in the Classis at the time; and his signature plainly shows that his hand was very unsteady from what must have been the shaking palsy.
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Brother Kuypers was likewise the first President of the Classis of Passaic. He seems, however, in those days to have been lacking in energy, and seldom had the statistical reports of any of his Churches ready for Classis when called for; while the general con- dition of his charge also was at low ebb, which ultimately brought about his forced resignation and retirement. At the next meeting of Classis after his death, a committee, consisting of Revs. Wilson, Schanck, and Ryerson, was appointed to prepare resolutions, "ex- pressing the sense of this Classis under the solemn dispensations of Providence, whereby the Rev. Father Kuypers, and the Rev. John A. Liddell, have, within a short time past, been removed from earth, as we trust to the' enjoyments of heaven." This committee reported,' and their report was accepted and adopted, and is as follows :
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"WHEREAS, In the righteous Providence of God, two members of this Classis have, since our last stated session, departed to their eternal rest, viz: Rev. Z. H. Kuypers, in the 80th year of his age, and the Rev. John A. Liddell, in the 44th year of his age; therefore
"Resolved, That this Classis sympathize with the friends and relatives of the departed brethren. and particularly with the, widow and family of Mr. Liddell, in the sudden removal from them of an affectionate husband
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and father, and with the Church of which he was an accepted and devoted pastor: "Resolved, That the members of Classis, in view of the departure of their brethren to their final account, are admonished to be more diligent and faithful in their work, that when they receive the summons of their Lord, they may be ready to render' an account of their stewardship with joy, and hear their Master 'say, 'Well done, good and faithful servant, en- ter thou into the joy of thy Lord.'"
Thus we have the last of the records concerning one who for a long time was engaged in the work of a minister over this Church. However, there are still people living among us, and elsewhere, who well remember him.
Previous to 1842, when the labors of Domine Kuypers, with this, as with his other Churches, closed, we have only partial records of the Reformed Church of Preakness, i. e., a few births, baptisms, and deaths, and no Consistorial Minutes at all-the old records otherwise either having been lost or destroyed. But from Dec. 25, 1842, the records of all kinds, so far as we know, are complete. The first baptism recorded on our Church books was performed by Domine Kuypers, viz .: that of Jane Maria Demarest, daughter of David Demarest, Jr., and Maria, his wife, born Apr. 25, 1831, and baptized May 16, 1831. There are thirty-five in all of these bap- tisms of his recorded, the last being that of John Ralph Stagg, Aug. 16, 1840. Domine Kuypers, so far as we know, does not appear to have married a single couple in Preakness, though nat- urally, as we all know, this could never have been ;- the records were either never made or have been lost-most likly the latter. A few deaths and burials are given us for his time, but only a few- less indeed than twenty-five ;- the first death and burial being that of. Albert Berdan, who died Oct. 2, 1837, and was buried Oct. 4. As to Church members, or members received into the communion during his pastorate, we can judge only from what we learn by the records after his day. In Domine Staats's handwriting, we find a list of members, as rendered to the pastor Nov. 1, 1843,-in other words, those who were members when he assumed charge,-most, if not all, of them, presumably having been received by Domine Kuy- pers. We will give the list entire: Jeremiah Ryerson, and his wife, Rachel Van Saun, Leah Kip, widow of Jasper Dodd, John G. Van Winkle, and his wife, Margaret Van Riper, Martin H. Berry, and his wife, Rachel Kip, Wilelmina, wife of George S. Doremus. David D. Demarest, Jacob Berdan, Esq., Martin Van Winkle, John G. Doremus, and his wife, Mary, Margaret, wife of Martinus Hogen- camp, Mary Ann Doremus, widow of John Van Saun, Henry
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HISTORY OF PREAKNESS
Cooper, Francis Hendricks, and his wife, Ann Cooper, Ellen De- gray, widow of Garret Merselis, Harriet Merselis, Myndert Maby, Elizabeth Van Riper, widow of Peter De Witt, Jacob A. Berdan, and his wife, Catharine Demarest, Jacob B. Van Riper, and his wife, Mary Ann Van Riper,-in all twenty-six. No dates of re- ception are given.
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CHAPTER VII.
REV. JOHN WOODS, S. S.
On Christmas Day, in 1842, the Rev. John Woods, who had been supplying the Reformed Church of Montville, Morris County, N. J., for perhaps a year, commenced the discharge of his duties as stated supply at Preakness, and Preakness only, for the term of six months. The first meeting of Consistory under Mr. Woods was held Jan. 2, 1843, at the house of Martin Van Winkle, and the members present, besides Mr. Woods, who was elected President protem, were Elder Martin H. Berry, and Deacons, Martin Van Winkle, John Van Winkle, and Jacob Van Riper. There were other members of Consistory at the time who were absent, as testified to by a reference to them in the Minutes.
A weekly lecture, alternating between Upper Preakness and Lower Preakness, which was probably the beginning of that service in this Church was resolved on at that meeting. These lectures were held probably in the schoolhouses, as was customary in those days all over the country ; or, it is true, they may have been held, occasionally at least, in private houses. Also at that same meeting it was ordered that the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper be adminis- tered on the first Sabbath in February. When it was likewise further determined to get the expression of the whole Consistory as to whether the Ordinance of the Lord's Supper thereafter should be celebrated quarterly or semi-annually.
The next meeting of Consistory occurred Jan. 12, in the Church, and the same members and no more were present, as at the other meeting. The question as to the administration of the Lord's Supper was considered, and it was decided to have it ad- ministered quarterly.
Other resolutions were :
1st. "That Mr. John Stagg be requested to produce the Church Register of Births and Burials, for the inspection of Consistory."
2nd. "That the last Sabbath in each month be the stated times for public baptisms; and that Consistory meet a short time before service at the church on such days, to examine the parents, when necessary."
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HISTORY OF PREAKNESS 1
3rd. "That the last Minute be read publicly next Sabbath, as a standing order of Consistory."
The third meeting of Consistory under Mr. Woods was held March 20, 1843, when the Birth and Burial Register was presented for inspection, and left in the hands of the Acting Pastor. The same members were present at this meeting, as at the other two meetings before it, and also at the one after it, on April 3rd, these being all the meetings of Consistorys held under Mr.' Woods.
From the Minutes of the lasti meeting, we learn' that Francis Hendricks was the other Deacon of the Church at this time .. . The names of the other Elder, if there was then a full Consistory, can- not be obtained; but it may have been that Myndert Maybe was the other Elder.
We know nothing of the earlier history of Mr. Woods, except that in 1835 and 1836, he served the Church at Gibbonsville, after- wards West Troy, N. Y., and now West' Troy, North, and in 1838 only, he was stated supply at Montville. When he left Preakness in June, 1843, he appears to have left the Church. There are rumors abroad that he was weak in regard to the use of liquor. In fact, it was for that reason that he was not re-engaged for continued service here after his six months' term had expired. His compensa- tion, while at work in this field was one hundred dollars as per receipt, which was just double that ;which Domine Kuypers had been getting. Mr. Woods was the first minister who served this Church exclusively for the time he was engaged! ! The Minutes of Consistory while he was here are in' his handwriting, and are the first and oldest Consistory Records'that we have. The Register of Births and Burials already referred to is the oldest Record Book of any kind that belongs to this Church. We'admit, it was not kept in good shape; but as it is the best we have, we are glad to have it, such as it is. According to this Book, Mr. Woods, while in Preak- ness, baptized four infants, married two couples, and appears to have buried four persons, among them Elder: Garret Merselis. Domine Woods was a man of marked ability, and it was declared could fill any Church. Dr. Duryea, of Totowa, used to say in regard to him, before his weakness became known, that there was some- thing wrong about him, or he would not be a mere stated supply in a small country Church ; and Dr. Duryea was right .! ' 1
AND PREAKNESS REFORMED CHURCH.
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CHAPTER VIII.
THE PASTORATE OF THE REV. JOHN A. STAATS.
Part I.
Oct. 3rd, 1843, at a meeting of the Consistory, moderated by Rev. William J. Thompson, afterwards familiarly known as "The 1 Tutor," because he once held the position of Tutor in Rutgers Col- ·Ilege, but who was at this time pastor of the Churches of Ponds and Wyckoff, a call was made on the Rev. John A. Staats, which was the same day presented to Classis, in session in the Preakness
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THE REV. JOHN A. STAATS.
. Church, and approved; when, Brother Staats having signified his acceptance of the same, arrangements were made for his installa- tion,-said installation to occur on Tuesday, Nov. 21. But when that day came, a quorum of Classis not being present, the installa- tion was again fixed for Dec. 12, when the Rev. Joseph Wilson, of Fairfield and Little Falls, presided and proposed the Constitutional Questions ; the Rev. John L. Janeway, of Montville, preached the .. sermon ; the Rev. Garret C. Schanck, of Pompton Plains, delivered the charge to the pastor; and the Rev. Horace Doolittle, of Pomp- |, 'ton, the charge to the people. Brother Staats entered upon his . duties Oct. 25, 1843,-about six weeks before his installation, er (which is quite customary with ministers in our Church, after re- ( " ceiving a call), and for eighteen years, and over, or until late in ( November, 1861, remained uninterruptedly at his post. A young
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HISTORY OF PREAKNESS
man of only 2? when he came, and just 45 when he left, he put in the best part of his life here; while we believe it is not too much to say, that the Church in this place, during his long pastorate, the longest of any yet, saw the days of its greatest growth and pros- perity, not in regard to numbers and membership so much, as in regard to activity, position, and influence in the neighborhood.
Rev. John A. Staats came from Holland ancestry. He was born at Millstone, N. J., Dec. 28, 1816; was graduated at Rutgers College in 1836, in the class with George H. Stitt, a prominent lawyer of New York City, and in his day clerk of the Collegiate Church there, who was also a brother of Rev. Charles H. Stitt, a brother-in-law of Mr. Staats; Hon. William A. Newell, once Gov- ernor of the State of New Jersey, and afterwards Governor also of Washington Territory ; Prof. George W. Coakley, of New York Uni- versity and the College of St. James, Maryland; Hon. Frederick T. Frelinghuysen, U. S. Senator, and Secretary of State from 1881 to 1885, under President Chester A. Arthur ; Hon. Joseph P. Brad- ley, of the U. S. Supreme Court ; Hon. Cortlandt Parker, a noted lawyer and prominent citizen, of Newark, N. J. ; and others.
We have seen that the Rev. Charles H. Stitt, D.D., as well as being his classmate, was likewise a brother-in-law of Mr. Staats. Other brothers-in-law of his were the Rev. George S. Mott, D.D., for many years pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Flemington, N. J .; and the Rev. George Schenck, who for twelve years was pastor of the Reformed Church of Bedminster, N. J. These four clerical brethren married four sisters, the daughters of John Acken. of New Brunswick, N. J.
After his graduation from College, Mr. Staats engaged for a year in the work of civil engineering, at the close of which he entered the Theological Seminary at New Brunswick, being moved so to do by the late Rev. J. C. Cruikshank, Sc.D., then his young companion and friend.
Dr. Cruikshank once told the writer that Mr. Staats confessed this to him in after years. Having graduated from the Seminary in 1840, Brother Staats was soon licensed by the Classis of New Bruns- wick, and settled, early the following year, on a salary of $400 per annum, over the Reformed Church of Clintonville, also called Camptown, now Irvington, a congregation that had just been or- ganized, where, however, he labored for only about six months. There was no church building at Clintonville at that time,-the congregation had not had a chance yet to put one up .- but worship
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was conducted in what was known as Sherman's Schoolhouse. While at Clintonville, Mr. Staats married Elizabeth Acken, who still (1902) survives him, a daughter, as we have seen, of John Acken, Esqr., of New Brunswick.
From Taylor's Annals of the Classis of Bergen, &c., p. 369, we take the following extract: "On the 8th of December, 1840, a call upon Mr. John A. Staats, then a candidate for the gospel ministry, was made by this Church, and duly approved. On the 19th of January, 1841, he was examined for ordination. On the next day the ordination and installation services were rendered, the Rev. John Knox, D.D., of New York, having preached the sermon, on Ezekiel 3: 17. The charge to the pastor was delivered by Rev. Ransford Wells, and that to the people by Rev. Alexander H. War- ner. On July 28th of the same year, Mr. Staats felt it to be his duty to resign his charge, and the Classis found it necessary to dis- solve the connection. This unexpected turn in the affairs of this congregation, was the occasion of disheartening them for a little season."
For more than three years after leaving Clintonville, or until he came to Preakness, Brother Staats was without a charge. From here in 1861, he went to Blooming Grove, N. Y., in the Classis of Rensselaer, where he remained until 1866, after which he was with- out charge again during the rest of his life ; but preached as he had opportunity in various churches, as stated or other supply. He died at or near Goshen, N. Y., Feb. 3, 1891, in the 75th year of his age. His funeral services were held from his late residence there, on Friday, Feb. 6, 1891, and were conducted by Rev. H. Hageman, of High Falls, and Rev. S. W. Mills, of Port Jervis, assisted by several neighboring clergymen. His remains lie interred in Slate Hill Cemetery, at. Goshen.
For the last three years of his life, Mr. Staats was laid aside by increasing infirmities, until finally death brought a happy re- lease, and he was called to come up higher. For over twenty years, therefore, without a charge from the time he left Blooming Grove in 1866, he was engaged in supplying vacant Churches, as oppor- tunity offered, and in assisting his brethren of whatever denomi- nation in the ministry, who needed help. We learn that, in some in- stances, as was the case with the Reformed Churches of New Prospect and Esopus, these services "were rendered from one to two or more years continuously in the same Church, and have been of great value to them." At Esopus, during the year that he served
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the people there, from Spring to Spring, 1881-2, a new parsonage. was built, and 12 persons were received into the membership of the Church. Many a feeble and despondent congregation has been greatly strengthened and encouraged by Brother Staats's ministra- tions, and holds him in grateful remembrance. He delighted in work of this kind, going long distances in summer's heat and win- ter's cold, and amid great exposure, and sometimes no little bodily suffering, to do his Master's work." (The Christian Intelligencer. )
These twenty years or more until his death Mr. Staats spent on his farm, near Goshen, which he bought after leaving Blooming Grove, a property that for years before he bought it, he admired the quality and location of, as he passed back and forth on his vaca- tion drives with his family, from New Jersey to New York, or vice versa. His son, John H. Staats, now (1902) owns and lives on the old homestead.
Brother Staats came to Preakness in a particularly happy time, both for himself and the Preakness Church. The Church was small,. and the people were discouraged. They had never had a minister to themselves, until Mr. Woods came, and he was here such a little while, only as stated supply, that he did them little, if any good. Besides, matters were worse, when it was found out what kind of d' minister Mr. Woods was. Mr. Staats, on the other hand, a man of sterling character and integrity, was well adapted to his new field. He had been a long time looking around for a settlement, and at once took to Preakness, when he found it, and the people of Preak- ness took to him. For a few years he occupied, with his family, the West end of the large house on the farm now owned by Mrs. Cahill, formerly known as the Esquire Merselis, and later, Schuyler, and still later (when he was there), Voorhees place. Here he resided, until he moved into the parsonage in 1846 or 1847, built and fin- ished largely through his own determination and perseverance. When the Domine came to Preakness, the people went to New Brunswick in wagons for his goods.
At the first meeting of Consistory under the Rev. J. A. Staats, Feb. 3, 1844, when the first applicants to the communion under his pastorate were received, the following Elders and Deacons were present : Martin H. Berry, David D. Demarest, John G. Doremus, Elders, and Jacob B. Van Riper, John G. R. Van Winkle, and Mar- tin Van Winkle, Deacons. The members received into the com- munion were Uriah J. Van Riper and wife, from the Reformed Church of Acquackanonk, and Catharine, wife of D. D. Demarest,
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from the Reformed Church of Pompton. Also Maria, wife of David Demarest, Jr., was received on confession. It was under- taken at this meeting to start to repair the Church edifice; that is, "On motion it was resolved that public notice be given from the pulpit of a meeting of the male portion of the Congregation, on Thursday, the 15th inst., at 1 p. m., in the Church, for the purpose of devising ways and means to repair the church edifice." But noth- ing, it seems, came of it, or nothing directly, for the real beginning of this work was not until Nov. 21, 1851. The first statistical report of the Church, made out about this time, shows that the congregation consisted of 54 families, and that the membership of the Church was 29. The remarks sent in to Classis in connection with this report were also very enthusiastic and encouraging. In July, another change was made in the celebration of the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper to three times a year instead of four, viz : the first Sundays in September, January, and May. The next statistical report, that of 1845, showed a net increase of 6 in membership, and a Sunday School, which was first organized within the year, with 96 names of officers, teachers, and pupils, on its roll, and an average attendance of 80. The work was very encouraging, although it also had its gloomy aspects, "because," it was said, "many stand halting between two opinions, and those who have borne the ark of God give evidence that ere long they must be gathered to their fathers."
In the report for this year, auxiliary work for the American Tract Society is spoken of, and the distribution of bound volumes and tracts of the Society's publications is referred to as having found an unexpected welcome; but we learn nothing more of this work in subsequent reports, and suppose, therefore, that it gradually died out.
We want to say a word in this connection in regard to the Church Sunday School. Organized in the spring or summer of 1844, shortly after the beginning of the pastorate of the Rev. J. A. Staats, as we have seen, with an enrollment the first year of 96, which fluctuated from that number down to 50 in 1849-50, and from 50 again up to 120, the last year of his pastorate (1861), it has been in constant operation ever since, during the summer months, and some years all the year round, with the single exception of the year in which the new church was built (1852), when there was no Sunday School, either winter or summer, although the children were catechised once a month that year.
As a rule, the Church Sunday School, under subsequent pas-
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HISTORY OF PREAKNESS
torates, has not been so large as it was during Mr. Staats's pastorate, due principally to there not being so many older persons in it. In 1874, during the pastorate of Rev. A. A. Zabriskie, its enrollment was 100 ; and the only other time the enrollment reached that figure was during the present pastorate, in 1892. In 1875, the Lower Preakness Sunday School was organized ; and then, of course, in the two schools together, there was a greater enrollment, the number that year reaching 175. But it was never as great as that again. In 1877, it was 150.' In 1889 and 1891, it was 130, that is, in the two schools combined. The Superintendents of the Church Sun- day School have been Rev. J. A. Staats, Rev. C. B. Durand, Rev. S. T. Cole, Rev. A. A. Zabriskie, John Hennion, I. W. Blain, James D. Berdan, J. F. Day, Richard D. Bensen, Rev. Geo. W. Labaw.
Mr. Staats in 1845, on resolution of the Consistory, made out the salary lists for the Deacons, which we never heard of a pastor's doing in any other Church, but which this Preakness pastor, after he began, seems to have done more or less regularly for years,- perhaps almost as long as his pastorate lasted,-as well as look over the accounts of the treasurer-thereby practically auditing them.
Preparatory Service now began to be held on Thursday after- noons. Before this, it had been on Saturdays. Possibly this was about the time the Preakness people commenced to spend their Sat- urdays, or the greater part of them, in Paterson,-or it was becom- ing more and more of a custom for them so to do,-as in these days you would hardly think a person could live in Preakness, if he was not used to spending his Saturdays, or at any rate, his Saturday afternoons, in the city. Even the pastor, after a while, no matter what he has previously been accustomed to, gets to be like the peo- ple. In these days, Preparatory Service before each communion is, and for many years has been, held on Friday afternoons, and not Thursday, as at first when changed from Saturday,-the day usually selected for that purpose in country Churches.
In the statistical report of the next year, 1846, the number of families in the congregation remains the same as the two previous years, that is, 54. There is an increase of one in the membership, while the average attendance at Sunday School has fallen five to seventy-five.
As we have already intimated, there was no parsonage, or, according to the language or terms of those days, "parsonage house," in Preakness when Domine Staats came here in 1843,-the main reason probably being that none had been needed, Domine Kuypers
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having been a bachelor, and Domine Woods also having been either a bachelor or a widower, or, it may, his wife, if he had one living, never came with him to this country from England. But the neces- sity for a parsonage was now realized, when it was felt that Domine Staats, a young man with a family, was going to make a success of his work; besides the congregation was growing.
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