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 17
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176
HISTORY OF PREAKNESS
Repairing the steeple $50.00
New roof on North side 100.00
Lath and Plastering 100.00
Pulpit 50.00
Fixing pews and gallery
300.00
A total of
$600.00
In addition to this, the floors and sleepers were found to be defective, and what expense would be incurred by these items the committee could not estimate until the old pews were removed.
The next thing of course was to raise the money. On Christ- mas Day, at the close of divine service the congregation met with John Stagg in the chair and J. A. Staats, clerk. It was resolved that a committee be appointed to ascertain what amount of sub- scriptions could be raised for a new church. The idea of repairing the old building had now been given up. The following were ap- pointed as this committee: William Sickles, Martin Van Winkle, Uriah J. Van Riper, John A. Staats, David Tomkins, Albert I. Berdan, William C. Stratton, Peter Perrine, Robert Martin, and Nicholas Jones. On the same day, a subscription paper, (and per- haps more than one, although we have no other), was started, of which the following, with the signatures, is a true copy :
"To encourage the Trustees of the Protestant Ref. Dutch Congregation of Preakness, N. J., in erecting a new Church edifice. we the subscribers hereby agree to pay to their order the sums opposite our names at such times and in such proportions as they may demand. Dec. 25, 1851.
Names.
$30.00
Peter A. Smith 25.00
Harvey Miller
5.00
Albert B. Voorhees
25.00
Harriet Merselis
25.00
David Tomkins
100.00
J. M. Van Winkle
25.00
G. C. Tomkins
25.00
Edo. Van Saun
20.00
Uriah J. Van Riper 30.00
Martin Van Winkle
25.00
Richard J. Berdan
60.00
James D. Berdan
15.00
Andrew Van Riper
A month after this subscription was started, others were added to the committee, viz: Richard J. Berdan, Alexander Beattie, of St. Andrews, Orange County, N. Y., who was a schoolteacher here then, and Peter P. Voorhees, of New York City, son of Peter Voor- hees, who at that time lived on what has since been known as the Campbell place, and who gave to the Consistory half of the par- sonage lot. On Apr. 5, 1852, the congregation met to hear the
177
AND PREAKNESS REFORMED CHURCH.
report of this committee, when it was found that $1,266 had been pledged within the congregation, and $504 from outside. Some of this outside aid may have been secured from the other Churches in the Classis, as in the Minutes of Classis, under date of Jan. 13, 1852, we find the following :
"Art. 24. Particularia : The Rev. Mr. Staats, in behalf of the Con- sistory of the Church of Preakness stated that their Church were about engaging in an effort to build a new church edifice, and that among their own congregation they would be able to raise about $1,500, and would need aid from other churches. They request a recommendation for such aid."
When it was
"Resolved, That the Church of Preakness be recommended to the churches for aid towards the erection of a church edifice."
A. G. RYERSON, President. G. C. SCHANCK, Clerk.
A building committee was appointed "to present estimates and plans, which committee should also have the general control of the enterprise and work of rebuilding until done, the members of it receiving one dollar per day for their time and services, and their expenses paid when traveling on the business of the congregation." Said committee consisted of Messrs. J. A. Staats, John I. Trap- hagen, and Peter G. Merselis. Peter G. Merselis was made treas- urer of the new church fund. This committee, on Apr. 19, 1852, reported a plan for the new church, "38 x 54 feet, with walls 17 feet above the water table." The approximate estimate of the com- mittee for a brick church was $2,924, and for a frame church $2,400. After some consultation, it was resolved 8 to 2 "that this meeting is in favor of a stone building faced with brick on the sides and front." It was further resolved "that the walls be laid up by days' work." Also "that the carpenters' work, of floor, roof, and "top be by days' work." While in regard to "interior furnishing," the committee was authorized "to make such contracts as might appear most advantageous." The building committee was then likewise authorized to employ Peter C. Post as superintendent of the work at an expense of $20. The work on the church was to be- gin May 25. No one at the meeting opposed the building of this new church. The building committee was further authorized to sell to the highest bidder whatever materials of the old church were thought to be unfit or unnecessary for the new edifice. The com- mittee chosen to audit the new church bills and accounts consisted of John Stagg, Esqr., and David Tomkins.
178
HISTORY OF PREAKNESS
Apr. 25, 1852, at a regular meeting of the Consistory, after Preparatory Service, the following resolutions having been pro- posed, were considered and carried, to wit:
"Resolved, That this Consistory hereby recognize and appoint the build- ing committee chosen by the congregation, at their meeting on the 5th inst., as their agents, authorizing them to do all acts and make all con- tracts directed by the congregation.
"Resolved, That the persons residing within the bounds of the congre- gation, who have made subscriptions payable to the Trustees in behalf of a new church edifice, be requested to pay to Peter G. Merselis, treasurer of the New Church Fund, twenty-five per cent. of their subscriptions on the 15th to the 25th of May next."
On motion, it was
Resolved, "That Peter G. Merselis and Martin H. Berry be requested to furnish their barns for divine service during the time the church is in building,-to be occupied alternate Sabbath mornings."
And it was further
Resolved, "That the regular exercises of the Sabbath School be dis- pensed with during the season; and in lieu thereof the children and youth be catechised at the afternoon service."
Also that the morning service commerce at ten o'clock. The season, however, was so long, and it was so late before the church was ready for occupancy, that the two schoolhouses were used in the fall and early winter, instead of the two barns, for the regular services.
The salary of the minister at this time (Nov. 10, 1852), was raised from $250 to $300, together with the free use of the par- sonage lot and farm, (so called), and 33 loads of wood, the wood item especially having been in the agreement for years. This in- crease of salary is particularly noticeable, in that it came when the congregation was undergoing heavy expense in rebuilding their church, and so soon, too, after having finished and paid off the debt on their parsonage. Previous to June, 1850, Mr. Staats's salary had been $275; but because of arrears, an agreement was entered into to make it "$240 in cash, a release from obligation to pay interest on parsonage debt, 33 loads of wood, the use of a barrack, to be built by the congregation, together with the privileges in the parsonage property, which he at the time enjoyed."
The new church was dedicated to the service of the Triune God on Thursday, Dec. 30, 1852. Rev. Thos. De Witt, of New York, preached the sermon from Zech. 6: 12, 13, and Eph. 2: 20, 22; and the Rev. John Gaston preached in the evening. Including these two, and Mr. Staats, there were nine ministers present who
179
AND PREAKNESS REFORMED CHURCH.
took part in the exercises. The other six were Revs. G. C. Schanck, A. G. Ryerson, J. H. Duryea, Joseph Wilson, J. C. Cruikshank, and Garrison, or Garretson, probably John, then Corresponding Secre- tary of the Board of Domestic Missions. One remark that Dr. De Witt made on the occasion, as Dr. Cruikshank once told us, was that "the parsonage had been built for the convenience of the pas- tor, and now the church was completed for the accommodation of the congregation."
This new church, the one we are still worshipping in, was con-
PREAKNESS REFORMED CHURCH, 1852.
structed with only an end gallery and vestibule, and has 60 pews on the floor. It is a commodious, neat, and substantial structure, which should stand anyhow as much longer as it has already stood. The pews, together with an exceedingly handsome solid mahogany pulpit, with which the church, after completion, was furnished, were, for a little over $100, bought of the Park Presbyterian Church, of Newark, then located in West Park street, but now of
180
HISTORY OF PREAKNESS
Belleville avenue, and of which the late Dr. French was so long pastor. This pulpit, when the alcove back of the platform was built during the pastorate of Domine Wyckoff, being considered much antiquated in style, was removed to give place to the present one. Albert Bensen, Sr., bought it, and it has since been broken up. Mrs. H. K. Berry has the old pulpit sofa, which was taken out of the church at the same time, paying 50 cents for it. Domine Staats, it is said, never felt like coming into the new church, after the original pulpit had been removed, and he never came. The church also at first was lighted for evening gatherings by candle brackets, or candelabra, which were of bronze, and handsome in pattern or style, having been purchased by a committee consisting of Miss Dorcas Berdan, Mrs. Richard J. Berdan, Mrs. Martin H. Berry (Rachel Kip), and Miss Carrie Tomkins, who went and made their purchase in New York. One of these brackets is in the par- sonage hall above the stairway. The others have been disposed of to relic hunters. They were made to give place, in Mr. Cole's time, to bracket lamps. The chandelier was hung in Mr. Wyckoff's time.
On Saturday, Jan. 1, 1853, two days after the dedication ser- vices had been held, the Consistory met in the new church, and, in order to satisfy the subscriptions (the amount of said subscriptions being applied thereto so far as possible), as well as to raise more money with which to meet liabilities, incurred in building,-the total already being $2,975,-and others to be incurred in the future, it was resolved to appraise and sell, if possible, 45 pews, to the amount of $3,000. At the appraisement, however, 53 pews were valued at an aggregate of $3,200. The Elders', Deacons', and pas- tor's pews were reserved, and four free pews in the back of the church. The last seat in the gallery was appropriated to the col- ored people, of whom there seems to have been at that time quite a number in the congregation. The highest value put on any pew was $90, and the lowest, $20. Those back of the Elders and Dea- cons, which are so severely let alone in these days, were all ap- praised at $70 each.
These appraisements, of course, did not coincide with the prices the pews afterwards brought. Some sold for more than they were appraised at, and others for less. The highest price any pew brought was $95, two of which sold for that, and the lowest, $11, one of the pews set apart as free. While the net result in the end was not very far short of the appraised total.
The first public sale of pews occurred on Monday, Jan. 3, 1853,
$70.00
$70.00
$70.00
Nicholas Kip and Cornelis
John Stagg.
J. G. R. Van Winkle.
Elders' Pew.
Pulpit.
Deacons' Pew.
Peter Perrine.
Peter Perrine.
Jeremiah Ryerson.
$70.00
$70.00
$70.00
57
58
59
60
1
$70.00
$70.00
Jacob B Van Riper.
$35.00
56
$75.00
Uriah J. Van Riper.
54
$81.00
$70.00
Samuel Hall.
9
IO
$85.00
Peter G. Merselis.
52
$90.00
$75.00
Andrew Van Riper.
11
$37.50
$90.00
Wm. Sickles.
John I.Traphagen. $95.00
Pastor's Pew.
48
$75.00
Richard J. Berdan.
15
$75.00
$90 00
Jeremiah Ryerson.
$93.00
$90.00
Jacob G. Berdan.
46
$90 00
$60.00
Cornelius R. Jacobus.
$55.00
17
18
$80.00
Jeremiah Ryerson.
$82.00
$80.00
John Crompton.
$80.00
$50.00
Henry I. Mead.
19
20
$70.00
Henry K. Berry.
C. K. Berry.
$70.00
$55.00
J. V. and Anthony Beam.
10
39
$35.00
$30.00
Barney R. Sisco.
23
4
$40.00
Nicholas J. Doremus.
$40.00
$40.00
Albert B. Voorhees.
38
37
$30.00
$20.00
Peter A. Smith.
25
26
$30.00
George A. Ryerson.
$30.00
$30.00
Henry Sutcliff.
36
35
$20.00
James Hinchman.
$27.00
27
28
-
$25.00
George A. Ryerson.
$25.00
$25.00
Robert Martin.
$25.00
34
33
Stove.
3I
30
Peter C. Post.
$11.00
Sold to J. G. Doremus for $60.00 but not taken for some reason.
$46.67
$70.00
$46.67
$75.00
$70.00
$70.00
4
3
2
I
$55.00
Wm. Sickles.
5
$37.25
$65.00
John Stagg.
7
$32.50
$35.00
$90.00
Garret Berdan.
$95.00
$90.00
Jacob B. Van Riper.
$90.00
50
5 I
David Shurte and
W. C. Stratton. $70.00
$75.00
49
David Tomkins.
$75.00
47
$75.00
Wm. S. Hogencamp.
$75.00
$75.00
Peter Perrine.
45
$50.00
43
$50.00
J. S. Hinchman.
$40.00
41
$50.00
$35.00 William Folly. 2 L
22
$55.00
David Demarest, Jr.
$58.00
$60.00
$35.00
James D. Berdan.
$35.00
$30.00
Henry Hopper.
$32.00
$28.00
Stove.
55
$55.00
Nicholas Jones.
$55.00
53
$65.00
George C. Tomkins.
$65.00
$70.00
$75.00
Edo Van Saun.
I3
$75.00
6
8
$75.00
Martin H. Berry.
$80.00
$85.00
Martin Van Winkle,
$85.00
12
29
$ 25.00
John D. Ryerson.
$25.00
$25.00
Wm. O. Rote.
$16.67
32
$60.00
Rebecca Berdan.
$60.00
44
$70.co
Peter Perrine.
42
$70.00
$44.00
$30.00
181
AND PREAKNESS REFORMED CHURCH.
the day after the first regular religious services had been held in the building. The Consistory met on that day at 11 o'clock, and was opened with prayer, all the members being present, when the following conditions of sale were agreed upon :
1. "The several pews shall be set up at the price appraised and marked on them, and the highest bidder shall be the purchaser."
2. "If any person refuse to comply with the conditions of sale, the pew struck off to him shall be sold again, and whatever loss occurs from the second sale, the first purchaser shall bear, and shall have no benefit from an increased price."
3. "If doubts arise concerning the purchaser, the pew shall be sold anew."
4. "The pew owners shall meet at such time as the Consistory miay determine,-ten days' notice having been given from the pul- pit,-and a majority thus assembled shall determine what annual assessment the pews shall be subjected to for the support of the church, and also the penalties, in case such assessment is not paid." (Withdrawn.)
5. "As in many instances, advances have been made to secure the building of the church, and these advances standing to the credit of the persons having made them, the prices at which the pews are sold, shall be paid in cash on or before the day the deeds are given, or notes for thirty days, with approved security, bearing interest, shall be given."
6. "John G. R. Van Winkle is hereby appointed to take charge of the sale."
That same afternoon 42 pews were sold for the sum of $2,531. One of these was afterwards given up, and sold again. At various later dates, one, two, or three others were disposed of, at a time, until on Oct. 25, 1854, the last of 54 in all was taken, with the pleasing result, if all the conditions were complied with, of $3,071.59 being received,-only $128.31 short of the appraisement, and $71.59 more than the original estimate of the total valuation before the appraisement.
We herewith furnish a diagram of these pews with the names cf the original purchasers. True, there have been many changes since ; nevertheless, some of the pews yet remain in the possession of the families of those who first bought them.
One thing in this connection, we should not pass over. During the progress of the public sale Jan. 3, 1853, upon representation made that the 4th article in conditions of sale was disapproved by
182
HISTORY OF PREAKNESS
persons present, and would interfere with the sale of pews, Con- sistory resolved that the said article should be withdrawn; which, having been done, probably greatly helped matters, as so many would not have been sold, or so soon, had this not been done.
The sextons of the old church that we know anything about, who added to their duties that of Chorister, were, as we have seen, Major Isaac Van Saun, who held these positions for many years, and perhaps until he died, in 1833 ; and after him, John Stagg, Jr., and David Demarest, Jr. Whether any one regularly served in the interim, between Van Saun and Stagg, we cannot tell. Stagg came to Preakness, probably in 1837. When he entered upon the duties of Sexton and Chorister, we are not sure; but his term closed at any rate, or his first period of service closed, in the spring of 1847, when he was succeeded by David Demarest, Jr. In the spring of 1850, Demarest proposed to the Consistory, in connection with his other positions, for an annual salary of $20, for all three depart- ments of work, to teach singing to the youth of the congregation, a. part of every year. The Consistory resolved to refer the matter to the congregation ; but we have no record that the congregation ever considered it, or considered it favorably. How long Demarest's term as Sexton and Chorister lasted, we are not sure,-possibly this was the end of it ;- since, before the old church was torn down, a number of people appear to have had it in charge, most likely by turns, or as there were volunteers,-no one it may be being found who would take the position permanently.
The first sexton of the new church was John Stagg, for one year; and he also added to the sextonship the duties of Chorister. After his term expired, these two offices were separated, and it took quite a little time before another Sexton was secured, as there was considerable difficulty, both in choosing one, and in finding a per- son who would serve. Finally, however, on the last day of March, 1853, David Tomkins was elected Sexton and undertaker for one year, to Apr. 1, 1854, and accepted. The undertaker's duties ap- plied to the care of the graveyard, and his work at burials, includ- ing ordinarily the transportation of the corpse from the house to the place of interment. The Sexton of the church here had been performing these functions it seems for years ; but the present is the first reference to them that we find in the Consistorial Minutes. Mr. Tomkins served in the capacities of Sexton and undertaker un- til the spring of 1856, when Peter C. Post was elected to both posi- tions for one year. The salary of the Sexton for years had been,
183
AND PREAKNESS REFORMED CHURCH.
and until the spring of 1857, was $20, when for the extra duties of cutting and piling up the wood used, it was raised to $30. Mr. Post was Sexton the rest of his life. He was succeeded by his sons, first John S., and then Richard, the latter of whom served for many years, until he left Preakness in 1893, when Hezekiah Brad- dock took his place. But he also soon left Preakness, and was suc- ceeded by his brother, John W., who served until the beginning of 1897, when Henry Herfort was appointed. The Sexton's salary, from time to time, has been raised until now it is $75.
In May, 1853, a second service in the church, in the afternoon, was desired by some, but after the report of a canvass of the con- gregation by the Deacons, it was resolved in Consistory not to have it. On Sept. 16, of that same year, it was decided, in answer to an application from a number of people living at Mead's Basin, now Mountain View, to hold an afternoon service there, the first or third Sundays of each month, said service being in the district schoolhouse. This service was kept up for many years, until dur- ing Mr. Wyckoff's pastorate, the Fairfield, Little Falls, and Pomp- ton Plains ministers also each having their turn.
A Bible Association likewise was formed in the congregation in November of this year, of such persons as should pay annually, on the first Sabbath in January, the sum of 50 cents or upwards, to the treasurer of the Association, said money, with the alms of that day, to be handed over to the Passaic County Bible Society, or the American Bible Society, as shall be thought most desirable. This Association existed for several years, and did a good work. The amount raised the first year was $30.50, the even dollars of which amount were paid in to the American Bible Society to con- stitute the first Life Member made by the Association ; but we do not know who this was, unless it was Mr. Staats himself.
When the agitation prevailed throughout the Church in regard to retaining or dropping the word "Dutch" in our corporate name as a religious denomination, this congregation voted to retain that word.
In the fall of 1854, the second service seems to have become a fixture for every Sabbath afternoon, at any rate for the time being, as follows :
First Sabbath in each month, Mead's Basin.
Second Sabbath in each month, Upper Preakness, in N. W. or N. E. quarter of congregation.
-
184
HISTORY OF PREAKNESS
Third Sabbath in each month, Lower Preakness schoolhouse. Fourth Sabbath in each month, in the church.
Fifth Sabbath, at such place as the Consistory may order.
In the spring of 1855, it was found that the Preakness Bible Association, of which Mr. Staats was treasurer for years, had re- ceived during the previous year, the sum of $29, and Consistory, by the payment of $30, made Jeremiah Ryerson, the oldest mem- ber of the Church at the time, and until 1854, for many years a member of Consistory, a Life Member of the American Bible So- ciety. Others made life members from year to year were Mrs. Staats, Sidney Phoenix, William Sickles, John M. Demarest, Nich- olas Jones.
The statistical report of the Church for this year (1855), shows 90 families, as compared with 70 in 1850; 61 members, as compared with 42, at the former date; and 450 persons, instead of 350,-an increase of 100,-in the congregation. There is also an increased enrollment in the Sunday School, over 1850, but not over 1845; while the Bible Class had been reduced more than one- half.
Nov. 20, 1856, a committee was appointed to ascertain the cost of a hearse, but if any further action was ever afterwards taken in regard to the matter, no record was made of it. The floor in the attic over the church ceiling was laid in the winter of 1856-7.
June 1, 1857, at a meeting of the congregation, on motion of John I. Van Winkle, it was resolved that this congregation invite Peter C. Post to lay off burying plots, and offer them to the public. Mr. Post, being present, acceded to the proposal; and this was the beginning of the new cemetery south of the church, which has always been private property.
Oct. 1, 1858, prayer meetings were held, probably for the winter, at private houses, according to invitation; though this of course was not for the first time. Sept. 9, of this year, a remark- able circumstance occurred in the reception of Henry Cuckaroo into the membership of the Church at the age of 85.
In the spring of 1859, $83 was raised by this congregation through personal solicitation among the people for the Board of Education of our Church, a very large sum, we think. The statis- tical report for the spring of 1860 shows a falling off, since 1855, of 10, in the number of families, a gain of 5 in the membership, which had risen from 61 to 66, and a marked increase in Denomi- national gifts, most likely due to the special effort made in behalf
185
AND PREAKNESS REFORMED CHURCH.
of the Board of Education the previous season, already referred to, and which had not been reported until now. In 1855, the gifts of the Church had been $30. This year they were $145.60.
On Aug. 29, 1861, a few months after the outbreak of our late civil war, permission was asked of the Consistory to float the national flag from the tower of the church, but consideration of the subject was deferred. A couple of weeks later the matter came up again, when there was a remonstrance, and no action was taken. The business subsequently came to a crisis, when a pole for a flag was raised in front of the church, and somebody cut it down in the night. Those were troublous times in Preakness, and many embitterments were engendered, which greatly affected the Church and the pastorate.
In the late fall of this year, Mr. Staats, having received an invitation to labor in the Church at Blooming Grove, near Albany, N. Y., presented the matter to his Consistory Nov. 6, which was then composed, besides himself, of but one Elder, William Sickles, and four Deacons, John Stagg, Edo Van Saun, Peter G. Merselis, and Uriah J. Van Riper ; when the matter of resignation was left entirely to himself; upon which "it was resolved that the Rev. John Gaston be invited to attend a meeting of the Consistory, on the 14th inst., at 10 o'clock, A. M., and superintend the proceedings with a view to obtain a dissolution of the pastoral relation at the meeting of Classis to be held that day at Preakness." There is no record on the Consistorial Minutes of this meeting of the Consistory with Mr. Gaston; but in the Minutes of Classis it is stated that Mr. Gaston read the minutes of this meeting, "whereupon it was moved that the joint petition of pastor and Consistory be granted." The further record on the Classical Minutes is: "The Rev. John A. Staats, having made statements with reference to his view of duty in seeking this dissolution, and other remarks having been made by other members of Classis, it was unanimously 'Resolved, That the joint petition be and hereby is granted.'" Just when the resigna- tion took effect, we are not positive. If it took effect on the day Classis took action, Mr. Staats's pastorate lasted 18 years, and almost a month. But if the resignation took effect Dec. 1st, as it may possibly have done, it was a little longer. At this meeting of Classis, through Elder Sickles, Classical supplies were asked for the Church, and granted as follows :
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