USA > New Jersey > Essex County > Orange > The Mountain Society : a history of the First Presbyterian Church, Orange, N. J. organized about the year 1719 with an account of the earliest settlements in Newark > Part 16
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A fire-company was formed nearly two years ago, and an engine obtained, but the alarming in- crease of incendiarism, and the want of sufficient
271
WANT OF POLICE.
and convenient supplies of water, produced a reac- tion against the movement. The engine was not paid for, and has recently been removed from the place. That a fire department, however, will be organized at no distant day, admits of little doubt.
The need of this would be less if the village were protected by an efficient police. In streets unilluminated, and untraversed by any kind of nightguard, the incendiary and the burglar find circumstances not a little favorable to their crimi- nal designs. Successful burglaries have of late been alarmingly frequent, and in no case within the writer's knowledge has either the criminal or his plunder been discovered. Impunity has given encouragement to these bold attempts, in which stores, private dwellings, and even sleeping-rooms, have been robbed of their contents while the own- ers slept. There is also much open dissipation and street-drunkenness, on which a check would be laid by the vigilance of a well-organized police. About a year ago, the exposure of property to fires (which seemed to be kindled more in sport than malice, as they occurred chiefly in barns, stables, shops, and other out-buildings,) led many citizens to station a private watch around buildings supposed to be especially in danger. These evils will doubtless continue, without much abatement, till they are met by the correctives of local muni- cipal law.
272
PRELIMINARY ACTION.
How soon such a remedy will be applied, we are unable to predict. It appears, from the following notice in the Orange Journal, of Nov. 19, 1859, (issued since the above was written,) that the sub- ject is already engaging the thoughts of some of our leading men :
" A meeting of the citizens of Orange was held at Willow Hall, on Thursday evening, Nov. 17th, pursuant to a call of the Township Committee, to consider the propriety of applying to the Legisla- ture for some change in the laws regulating the Township Government. The meeting was called to order by Mr. Nelson Lindsley. Dr. Babbit was appointed Chairman, and E. D. Pierson, Secretary. The Secretary read the call of the meeting, when Dr. Pierson moved, in order to test the feelings of the citizens, 'That it is expedient to take measures for the better government of the town,' which mo- tion was carried unanimously. It was then moved and carried that a committee of five persons be appointed, who, with the Township Committee, shall determine upon some plan to carry out the wishes of this meeting, as expressed by the first resolution, and report the same to a subsequent meeting.
" The several matters mentioned in the call, viz. : grading of streets, a police and fire department, license for the sale of liquors, division of election-
273
COMMITTEES.
districts, &c., were then taken up separately, and after considerable discussion, which was partici- pated in by Messrs. Dr. Pierson, N. Lindsley, Albert Pierson, J. L. Blake, R. Johnson, E. Gard- ner, F. P. Sanford, John Bonnell, Simeon Harri- son, the Chairman, and D. N. Ropes, were each referred to the committee.
" The Chairman then announced the following gentlemen as the committee to act with the Town- ship Committee to draft a plan as aforesaid: Messrs. William Pierson, Simeon Harrison, Napoleon Stet- son, Isaac J. Everitt, and Jesse Williams. It was moved and carried that the Chairman be added to the committee.
" Considerable discussion was then had on the subjects of taxation and common schools, after which the meeting adjourned, to meet at the call of the committee."
APPENDIX.
List of Pastors.
SETTLED.
DISMISSED.
DIED. AGE.
Daniel Taylor, Caleb Smith,
Nov. 30, 1748.
Oct. 22, 1762 38
Jed. Chapman, July 22, 1766. Aug. 13, 1800.
May 22, 1813 72
A. Hillyer, D.D., Dec. 16, 1801. Feb. 12, 1833.
Aug. 28, 1840 77
Geo. Pierson,
June 22, 1829. Apr. 27, 1831.
W. C. White, Feb. 13, 1833. Apr. 18, 1855. Feb. 7, 1856.
53
James Hoyt, Feb. 14, 1856.
Jan. 8, 1747-8 56
List of Ruling Elders.
The Church has no records from which the names of its elders can be known prior to 1801. The first three in the following list were obtained from the records of the Synod; the next eleven from those of the Presbytery ; some of them being also found in the oldest minutes of the Session. There must have been other elders before or contemporary with Joseph Peck, but their names cannot be re- covered. It is said by Ira Harrison that his ances- tor, Lewis Crane, who died in 1777, aged 59, held
275
APPENDIX.
the office. The evidence is wholly traditional. Henry Osborn was one of the elders who signed the call to Mr. Hillyer in 1801. From that time the list is complete. David Munn was chosen to the office in 1809, but declined to serve.
WAS IN OFFICE.
LEFT THE PARISH.
DIED. AGE.
Joseph Peck,
1757
July 12, 1772 70
Joseph Riggs,
1766
1783
1799 79
Bethuel Pierson, 1768
May 16, 1791 170
Amos Baldwin,
1775
Feb. 23, 1805
85
Noah Crane,
1776
June 8, 1800
81
John Peck,
1784
Dec. 28, 1811
79
Joseph Pierson,
1791
Oct. 9, 1835 76
Isaac Dodd, 1793
1798 Aug. 19, 1804 76
John Perry,
1793
Oct. 1, 1821 75
Joseph Crane,
1794
1798
11, 1832 81
Aaron Munn, 1795
1805 Jan. 28, 1829 63
Zenas Freeman, 1798
Sept. 3, 1800 40
Linus Dodd,
1798
Aug. 3, 1825 66
Amos Harrison, 1799
Sept. 2, 1832
Henry Osborn, 1801
1811 Nov. 1835 72
Moses Condit, 1805
June 8, 1838 78
John Lindsley, 1805
Dec. 19, 1819 67
Nathaniel Bruen, 1809 Daniel P. Stryker, 1814
Feb. 9, 1816
33
Adonijah Osmun, 1814
1831
Joseph Pierson, 1814
Oct. 5, 1819 45
Daniel Condit, 1814
May 11, 1820 38
Zadok Brown, 1817
(?)1818
1853
John Nicol, 1820 1831
1814 June 28, 1829 60
276
APPENDIX.
Peter Campbell,
1820
1831 Dec. 23, 1852
66
Samuel Freeman,
1820
1831
31, 1835 56
Aaron R. Harrison,
1822
1833
July, 1857 73
Aaron Peck,
1825
1831
Amos Vincent,
1826 *1840 June 24, 1853
74
Abraham Harrison,
1826
Dec. 1, 1851
73
Josiah Frost,
1831
Sept. 16, 1859
84
Daniel D. Condit,
1831
Oct. 17, 1839
56
Ira Canfield,
1831
1858
Samuel L. Pierson,
1831
1840
Abiathar Harrison,
1833
1855
Jonathan S. Williams, 1834
Smith Williams,
1839
Cyrus Gildersleeve,
1846
Charles R. Day, 1851
James Greacen,
1856
Nov. 5, 1857 42
John Boynton,
1856
Steph. Wickes, M. D., 1856
Ira Harrison,
1856
List of Deacons.
We insert the name of Samuel Pierson (written Pairson on his headstone) for reasons which have been given. There can be little doubt that he was one of the first officers of the church. The second pastor, Rev. Caleb Smith, had an account with " Deacon Thomson," as his account-book shows, p. 110. And there is extant a copy of the New
* Ceased to act.
APPENDIX. 277
York Pocket Almanac for the year 1757, which has been preserved in the parish, in which we find, among a number of business entries, that the owner of it in 1769 " paid Deacon Smith too dollars." Samuel Harrison's account with the parsonage in 1748 mentions Deacon Samuel Freeman. The dea- cons of later date (and perhaps some of these) have all of them been elders also, except the three now in office.
WAS IN OFFICE.
DIED.
AGE.
Samuel Pierson,
Mar. 19, 1730 66
Samuel Freeman,
1748
Oct. 21, 1782
66
Thomson, 1762
Smith, 1769
Joseph Peck,
July 12, 1772
Bethuel Pierson,
May 16, 1791 70
Amos Baldwin, 1783
Feb. 23, 1805 85
Noah Crane,(?)
June 8, 1800 81
Isaac Dodd,
Aug. 19, 1804 76
John Peck,
Dec. 28, 1811
Joseph Pierson, 1798
Oct. 9, 1835 76
John Perry,
Oct. 1, 1821 75
Amos Harrison,
Sept. 2, 1832
. Samuel Freeman, 1820
Abraham Harrison, 1833
1,1851
Amos Vincent, 1833
June 24, 1853 . 74
Josiah Frost, 1835
Moses B. Canfield, 1851
Erastus A. Graves, 1856
Cyrus S. Minor, 1856
Dec. 31, 1835 56
Sept. 16, 1859 84
13
278
APPENDIX.
Statistics.
The figures given here have been gathered from the following sources: From 1803 to 1805, from the Sessional Records; from 1806 to 1822, from the Records of the Synod of New York; for 1823 and 1824, from those of the Synod of New Jersey ; from 1825 to the present time, from the statistics of the General Assembly. When these were not pub- lished, or were found incomplete, the omissions have been supplied, so far as they could be, from other sources. In the columns of benevolence, especially in the first two tables, the figures are quite defect- ive. The tables are conformed to the changes which have been made from time to time in the form of statistical reports. These reports were generally made in April, and cover the year pre- ceding.
279
APPENDIX.
No. 1.
Year.
Added.
Members.
Adults
Baptized.
Infants
Baptized.
Funds of
Assembly.
Missions.
Education.
Presbytery.
1803
27
1804
IACO
223
6
38
$10 00
$23 00 16 18
$7 50
1807
8
228
2
26
11 00
1808
130
355
49
57
8 00
$8 00
1809
23
375
8
62
7 73
7 73
16 18
13 06
1810
4
377
30
10 62
10 62
22 45
1811
3
377
1
34
5 44
5 44
17 47
1812
10
383
2
21
7 93
7 93
18 10
1813
9
377
19
25
7 25
17 00
1814
15
379
4
33
10 19
10 20
17 00
1815
45
419
12
35
9 25
10 00
Bible
Society.
1817
119
518
35
24
12 00
12 00
18 25
1818
6
520
4
64
7 83
13 67
20 00
21 00
1819
4
40 00
1820
:8
511
3
32
6 00
2 37
36 00
1821
17
524
C
31
5 00
5 00
26 50
6 00
1822
6
522
2
20
5 00
5 00
19 00
1823
5
4 78
4 78
14 50
31 25
1824
7
518
1
23
6 03
6 03
9 68
43 00
1825
518
4
63
11 72
11 72
24 43
14 00
1826
90
596
26
63
5 68
5 68
11 10
6 00
1827
18
604
2
43
10 00
4 62
17 00
3 00
1828
or
588
1
31
8 00
5 75
10 00
31 40
590
168 1789
184 85
159 17 312 94 250 65
1816
9
374
3
40
7 27
7 25
14 10
8 13
8 13
1805
1806
9
5 56
280
APPENDIX.
No. 2.
Year.
Added on
Examination.
Added on
Certificate.
Members.
Adults
Baptized.
Infants
Baptized.
Assembly.
Missions.
Education.
1829
7
6
598
1
38
$9 59
1830
8
3
597
1
56
$5 00
$5 54
1831
12
2
596
46
7 00
7 37
1832
63
439
46
5 06
5 54
1833
1
4 25
1831
4
6
294
1
26
4 64
262 48
22 26
1835
2
3
281
14
4 00
134 00
16 00
1836
255
16 15
1837
1
6
250
1
20
4 42
350 00
50 00
1838
8
4
254
4
22
114 00
73 90
1839
22
10
280
6
25
14 34
345 00 340 00
1840
1
3
274
12
5 75
300 00
1841
30
4
280
8
400 00
1842
6
4
275
1
12
375 00
1843
36
14
270
14
50
1200 00
45 00
201
65
29
375
54 41
* Contributions in aid of foreign missions, from 1829 to 1833, were made to the Essex County Society, auxiliary to the American Board. The sums are not known; the accounts of the society, which has ceased to exist, not being found.
No. 3.
Added on
Examination.
Added on
Certificate.
Members.
Adults
Baptized.
Infants
Baptized.
Assembly.
Domestic Missions.
Foreign
Missions.
Education.
Publication.
1844
6
285
165 00
115 00
30 00
1845
3
250
10
200 00
120 00
35 00
1846
10
5
250
4
16
8 95
494 83
322 26
58 43
1847
4
250
12
209 26
97 84
49 15
1848
2
*66 69
90 84
+12 54
124 00
1849
1
12
235
36
12 18
*48 60
106 11
+22 63
25 00
1850
2
4
223
10
5 50
*85 80
140 60
±30 00
1851
34
2
250
4
8
6 00
*98 06
181 09
+26 69
104 31
1852
250
7
10 00
*85 93
176 72
+29 30
75 45
1853
3
250
8
12 75
213 73
117 14
+37 77
159 04
1854
6
15
230
2
9
6 50
316 68
185 39
+46 81
£36 01
1855
8
22
238
2
12
16 60
172 33
289 66
157 88
234 12
1856
4
13
255
4
12 00
545 23
413 93
161 14
210 50
1857
10
14
263
5
16
12 00
979 13
586 63
750 71
597 49
1858
32
20
301
6
11.
14 80
928 00
545 10
404 39
241 11
1859
31
12
322
3
16
20 00
1244 35
898 16
386 00
425 38
144 |138
26 175 131 48 5,853 62 4,386 47 2,208 44 2, 162 41
APPENDIX.
281
* Incomplete.
+ For Western Colleges.
# For Am Tract Society,
Year.
4468
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