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 8
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128
FIGURES SOMETIMES LIE.
The reader may think the cause was not likely to suffer much by derelictions so dearly paid for. But the adage that " figures do not lie," has its falsifications in our Revolutionary history. By the act of June 9, 1780, about a month before these penalties were laid, the legislature had estimated the currency of the State "at the rate of one Spanish milled dollar in lieu of forty dollars of the bills now in circulation." During the winter of that year, while the army lay at Morristown, Gen- erals Washington, Green, Knox, and others, sub- scribed for the expenses of a " dancing assembly " at the rate of $400 (equal to $10) apiece. So de- preciated was the currency, as stated by the officers of the Jersey line in a memorial addressed by them to the Legislature, "that four months' pay of a soldier would not procure for his family a single bushel of wheat;" and "the pay of a colonel would not purchase oats for his horse." These facts will correct any extravagant opinion the reader may have formed of the atonement ren- dered by the above delinquents.
A contest so nearly approaching the character of a civil war must have been highly disastrous to the churches. This was peculiarly the case in those parts of the country in which, as in New Jersey, the heat of the excitement was most intense. Friends were made enemies, families were divided, brother rose against brother, those who had walked
129
EFFECTS OF THE WAR.
together in loving fellowship met as foes on the battle-field, or were identified with hostile camps. The patriot whose prayers were with the Ameri- can army, was denounced as a rebel and his cap- ture sought by some neighbor, now a refugee under the British flag. The honest refugee was in turn denounced as a traitor, whose blood it would be a virtue to shed. The tragic fate of Stephen Ball is yet remembered, who having carried four quarters of beef to the British encampment on Staten Island, under a general promise of safety to all who would bring supplies to the army, was seized by a band of bloody-hearted refugees, taken across to Bergen Point, and hung with ten minutes' grace, the mur- derers having tried in vain to effect his arrest by the British officers.
The end of the war was the auspicious beginning of a new and happier era.
This occurred in 1782. The country was full of rejoicing, and no class of its citizens hailed the event with heartier joy than the ambassadors of a gospel of peace. With what thankfulness did they see their scattered flocks returning, and the stir and strife of arms succeeded by quiet industry and peace- ful worship !
Mr. Chapman had seen the hearts of his people bitterly alienated from each other, and many of them from himself, by the war. The issue of it was, however, in his favor. God's arm had been mani-
130
LIBERTY AND THE CLERGY.
festly outstretched to give victory to the cause which he had boldly vindicated. Certain members of the parish, who, during the war, had refused to identify themselves with what they viewed as a re- bellion, now, that the fact of independence was established, took the oath of allegiance to the new government.
The voices of the clergy on the subject of free- dom did not cease to be heard when the cause was won. As they had stimulated the patriotism of their countrymen, and invoked the aid of Provi- dence, during the struggle, so they now contributed to enlighten the people as to the nature of true liberty, and the way to preserve and perpetuate it. Among no class of professional men were public speakers more sought, or more ready to take a lead- ing part in patriotic celebrations. Mr. Chapman "played the orator" on many such occasions .* On almost any Fourth of July, he might have been seen with the military and civic procession, as it
* It is less common now, as there is less need, for ministers o the Gospel to perform such an office. The writer has done it twice; in his native town (while preparing for the ministry) in 1843, and at Orange, in 1859. On the last occasion he addressed from three to four hundred citizens, mostly native residents, in Library Hall, several of the clergy of the place being present. " The Christian's prayer for his Country" was effectively sung by the choir of the day. Prayer is a proper element of patriotism, and, it is hoped, will ever accompany, as it yet does, the exercises of our national celebration.
131
PARISH INCORPORATED.
moved from the Common, along the main road, toward the meeting-house, to the sound of fife and drum; and often did he stand at Religion's altar to lead the devotions of Christian freemen, when the task of expounding their liberties, and fanning the patriotic flame, was assigned to others. There are men yet with us who remember those occasions, and who received, at his lips, some of their earliest lessons of political wisdom. In the division of parties that followed the war, he was known as a Federalist.
Measures were soon taken to incorporate the parish, which had now been organized more than sixty years without a charter; its property being held in trust by private individuals, for the benefit of the congregation. The Legislature, then held at Burlington, being petitioned on the subject, passed an act, June 11, 1783, incorporating Joseph Riggs, Esq., John Range, Doctor Matthias Pierson, Stephen Harrison, Jun., Samuel Pierson, Jun., Samuel Dodd, and John Dodd, a Board of Trustees, the church now receiving the name of "The Second Presby- terian Church in Newark." Their tenure of office was perpetual, and, in case of vacancies, by death or removal, the power of appointing their succes- sors was conferred upon the " minister or ministers, elders and deacons of the church." The power also extended to the displacement of a trustee, whenever the said minister or ministers, elders and
132
OATH OF TRUSTEES.
deacons, or the majority of them, should judge his removal proper and for the benefit of the corpora- tion. The trustees were required to be persons of the congregation, and the number was limited by the statute to seven.
Each trustee, in assuming office, took the follow- ing oaths: 1. I do solemnly swear I do not hold myself bound to bear allegiance to the King of Great Britain. 2. I do solemnly profess and swear that I do and will bear true faith and allegiance to the Government established in this State, under the authority of the people. 3. An oath to execute well and truly the duty of a trustee, agreeably to the true intent and meaning of the charter. It was
a three-fold cord, not easily broken, and which shielded the important trust from all suspicion of disloyalty to freedom. The charter required these oaths to be taken and subscribed by "each and every of the trustees herein appointed, and their successors ;" agreeably to "an Act for the security of the Government of New Jersey," passed Sep- tember 19, 1776.
The trustees being duly qualified before John Peck, Esq., at the parsonage house, the 22d of Sep- tember, organized by appointing Joseph Riggs pres- ident, and John Range clerk. Mr. Riggs " de- livered in a book, formerly the property of the Rev. Caleb Smith, in order for the trustees to keep their accounts in;" and the charter was carefully
-
133
ORANGE SLOOP.
copied into the same by the Clerk. The President of the Board removed to New York the same autumn, when Jonathan Hedden was elected his successor.
This charter, which gave the whole appointing power to the Church session, (for the deacons were at that time venerable select men within the elder- ship,) proved unacceptable to the people. Its lead- ing provision was not in harmony with the spirit of the times. In consequence of the "great un- easiness and dissatisfaction" which it occasioned, the Legislature, agreeably to a petition of the con- gregation, so amended it, June 3, 1790, as to make " all regular supporters of the Gospel in said con- gregation" electors in the appointment of trustees. The election was to be made annually, on the sec- ond Thursday in April, by a plurality of voices .* The charter of the parent church received a similar amendment four years afterward. We see in these changes, the gradual working and extension of the principle of popular suffrage-a principle which, apparently, has not yet reached the limit of its ex- pansion in our national system.
In the course of the year 1784, the project of the " Orange Sloop" was formed. The plan was, to buy or build a boat, to be used for the benefit of the parish, running from Newark to Albany and
* The time was changed, in 1829, to the first day of January, and in 1856, to the second Monday in April.
7
1344
ORANGE ACADEMY.
other ports. Subscriptions for the purpose having been circulated, it was resolved, at a parish meeting, to build a boat, for which a committee of three managers was chosen. The craft .was, in due time, launched upon its useful mission, the parish receiving one-third of the profits. The income from this source was from forty to sixty pounds a year.
Closely following this enterprise was another, of more vital and lasting importance to the parish. This was the founding of a public school, long known as the Orange Academy. Incipient meas- ures were taken at a meeting of the parish, of which Deacon Bethuel Pierson was Moderator, held in April, 1785. Mr. Chapman, Doctor John Con- dit, Doctor Matthias Pierson, and four others, were appointed a committee to select the location and obtain subscriptions. A site-one-tenth of an acre- was obtained of Matthew Condit. In the follow- ing January, the same three persons, with Josiah Hornblower, Esq., and Bethuel Pierson, were chosen trustees. A substantial two-story building of brick and stone was put up, in which a parochial school of high grade was soon in successful operation. Mr. Chapman's name uniformly headed the list of trustees, who were appointed annually, and his love for sound learning, as well as sound doctrine, made him an efficient patron of the institution. The building, which has passed to other uses, is yet
135
WATTS' PSALMODY.
standing, in good condition, on Main street, oppo- site the church.
At the annual meeting of the parish, in January, 1785, " a move was made by Mr. Samuel Pierson, that there were not a sufficient number of musical clerks for the convenience of public worship ;" and " it was agreed to by the major part, that Nathaniel Crane, John Dodd, Jun., Aaron Munn and Joseph Ward, shall assist in that office." The custom still continued of reading the lines as the psalm was sung.
Watts' psalmody was now in use. The time of its introduction is not known. As early as 1763, " sundry members and congregations," within the bounds of the Synod, had adopted it, and the Synod had "no objection to the use of said imitation by such ministers and congregations as incline to use it, until the matter of psalmody be further con- sidered." The subject was renewed in that body several years without any decisive action upon it.
In the old society of Newark there was, in the year 1784, "the commencement of a very great and lasting revival of religion." It was a pleasing re- action from the sad condition of things produced by the war-a troubled sea in which the piety and hopes of large numbers of supposed Christians had foundered. More than a hundred souls, according to Dr. Griffin, were, by this awakening, added to that church, the heavenly influence spreading till it pervaded the whole community. It can scarcely
136
CALDWELL CHURCH.
be doubted that the congregation here received a refreshing from such a cloud. But as we have no record of admissions prior to 1786, it is only a sub- ject of conjecture.
The coincidence is, however, to be noted, that simultaneously with that revival a new church sprang into life, which must have taken from this the larger portion of its constituent members. This was the church at Horseneck, about seven miles farther in the interior, which was organized by Mr. Chapman, the pastor of this church, December 3, 1784. Forty persons united in its covenant. This movement favors the inference just stated, that the religious interest which was manifesting itself in Newark, was not confined to the banks of the Pas- saic. Eternal things were coming back to their place in the thoughts and feelings of the people through the settlements. In February, 1787, the new parish was incorporated "by the name and style of the First Presbyterian Church at Cald- well."> **
* This name is commemorative of Rev. James Caldwell, D. D., pastor of the Presbyterian Church of Elizabethtown, and chaplain in the revolutionary army. He was shot, for reasons unknown, by an American sentinel, who was hung for the deed. His wife was shot through the window of her sitting-room, in the midst of her children, by a British soldier. Their granddaughter, the second wife of Rev. John E. Freeman, of Futtehgurh, India, was one of the martyr missionaries, in the great mutiny of 1857. She was shot upon the parade ground at Cawnpore.
137
PARSONAGE LANDS.
The reader is already informed of an endow- ment of two hundred acres of land, granted to the town of Newark, by the original proprietors, for ecclesiastical use. In process of time, as the civil and religious affairs of the town were separated, and new religious societies were formed, these lands became a source of much contention. The Moun- tain Society and the Episcopal Church demanded a division, claiming for themselves an equal share with the First Society. The latter had the legal title to sustain it in claiming the whole. From 1760 onward, the subject was agitated in almost every town-meeting. Votes were passed, and then reversed, as the opposite parties happened to be in the majority. In March, 1761, " at a very full and public town-meeting," it was " voted and agreed that the said lands, granted by said letters patent to lie for a parsonage, be equally divided in quantity and quality, exclusive of the improvements made thereon, among said three societies or congrega- tions." Bethuel Pierson and five others were "ap- pointed agents to divide and allot said lands to said societies, and to apply to the Governor, Coun- cil and General Assembly, to confirm the same by a law." In this committee, those who represented the old society refused to act, and the trustees of that society entered their protest on the record. The measure was thus frustrated, and the strife prolonged. In 1784, the year of the revival, just
138
THE NAME-ORANGE.
noticed,* the animosity was quieted by a compro- mise, the new societies receiving a dividend of the lands, but holding them under lease, as tenants at will. In May of that year, a lease was given to the trustees of this parish of eighty-six acres and sixty-hundreths of an acre.
The settlement near the mountain had begun, at this time, to assume the character of a village, and to be known by the name it now bears. By whom, or from what circumstance the name was first be- stowed, we have no means of ascertaining. The Presbytery of New York, as its records inform us, met at Orange Dale, in October, 1785. Two years
* Not in 1786 or 1787, as given by Dr. Stearns, (p. 226,) on the authority of Dr. McWhorter. We find the above date in an orig- inal paper, preserved by the trustees of this parish, from which, and other papers in their possession, we gather also the following facts, which may as well be presented here. The lease given "on or about the 10th of May, 1784," to be continued at will, was revoked by the Newark trustees, acting under instructions from that Society, May 20, 1797. The controversy was thus revived. In 1802, another conveyance was made, by lease, of fifty-six acres, lying between Newark and Orange, the terms of the lease being, that it should be renewed at the end of each twenty-one years, for ever ; the lessees paying an annual rent of sixpence, if demanded. It was accordingly renewed, in 1823. This was the only title the old Society could give under the original grant. But having, in 1825, applied to the Legislature for a special act, enabling them to convey the land in fee simple, such an act was passed, and a deed of the said fifty-six acres was given to the Orange Society, August 29, 1826, which ended the matter. The land has long ceased to be the property of the parish.
139
SYNOD OF 1787.
later an acre of ground, conveyed to the parish by Isaac Williams-"for £15, current money of New Jersey"-was described in the deed as "lying in the bounds of Newark, aforesaid, at a place called Orange." It was bought for the parish by Matthew Pierson, in exchange for an acre taken by him from the parsonage lot. From that period we find the two names in apparent competition till 1806, when, the town of Orange being formed and christened by the authorities of the State, the village, now raised to metropolitan dignity, lost the romance of its name, if not its romantic surroundings.
Nineteen years before this latter event, an im- portant dignity was conferred upon our village pastor. By the Synod of 1787 he was elected to preside over its proceedings. It was the last meet- ing of the Synod previous to the formation of the General Assembly. This appointment is evidence that Mr. Chapman had, at this time, won an honor- able and influential standing in the Presbyterian body. At the next convocation, when the Synod' was about to be divided into four, under a higher and broader organization, he preached the opening sermon from Ephesians iv., 3, 4-" Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace- there is one body." The discourse, which was published,* was an able and well-timed exhibition
Mr. Chapman published, also, five sermons on baptism. That preached before the Synod, with discourses by his son and grand-
140
MR. CHAPMAN'S SERMON.
of these points : That the church of Christ on earth is one body ; that there is a glorious foundation in the church of Christ for unity and peace; and, thirdly, some of the ways in which this unity is to be kept.
The following passage in the sermon shows a catholic spirit, and contains a suggestion which has, since that time, been carried into effect in more ways than one: "I would beg leave just to suggest here, should some general plan of mutual inter- course, in brotherly love, with all the churches of Christ throughout the world, be formed and carried into execution, in the spirit of our text, whether it would not have a most happy tendency to heal the present divisions of the church, preserve the peace and unity of the body, and generally promote the prosperity and welfare of the common cause." This feeling, which was vigorously working and spreading, was, ere long, to give birth to those great cooperative measures which belong to the church history of the present century .*
son, is preserved by the Pres. Hist. Society, in a small volume presented by the grandson.
Mr. Chapman had then just taken part in forming the " So- ciety in Morris County, for the promotion of Learning and Relig- ion ;" a humble pioneer of the education societies which have since sprung up. It received its charter in the latter part of May, 1787, about a week after Mr. C. was chosen to moderate the Synod. The first trustees were, Benjamin Howell, William Ross and Joseph Harrison, Esquires ; Jacob Green, Jedediah Chapman,
141
TILLAGE.
From the records kept by the Trustees of the parish during this period we select the following items :
It was voted, January 12, 1786, that Stephen Harrison, Esq., do provide a good box or chest, with a lock, to contain the books and public writings belonging to this parish.
March 12. Voted, that Cornelius Jones be paid - four shillings a load for six loads of stone used at the parsonage well. Also, that any person getting stone on the parsonage lands allotted for this parish shall pay into the hands of Deacon Amos Baldwin, treasurer, the sum of one shilling the load. Also, that the old parsonage field may be plowed for a crop of buckwheat the ensuing summer, and that the parish receive every fifth bushel free from all expense, except some person will give more.
October 12. Voted, that the buckwheat for the
Amzi Lewis, Joseph Grover, David Baldwin, and Stephen Monson. This Society still exists, with a fund invested in the banks of New- ark and Orange, from which it has a revenue of nearly $300 per annum. Three young men are receiving aid from it, in prepara- tion for the ministry. The present trustees (the sole representa- tives of the Society) are, Rev. E. Seymour, Pres .; Rev. J. M. Sherwood, Rev. J. S. Gallagher, Rev. John Ford, Rev. James Hoyt, Zophar B. Dodd, W. S. Baldwin, Charles R. Day, and John Provost. Five of the Board reside in Bloomfield, where its semi- annual meetings are usually held. The project of the Society is believed to have originated in the old Morris County Presbytery, (not now in existence,) which was organized on the union principle by Presbyterians and Congregationalists.
142
COLLECTING RATES.
rent of the parsonage land is to be converted to the use of the whole parish. Also, that the price for the buckwheat shall be two shillings and sixpence per bushel.
January 15, 1787. Voted, that the widow of William Matthews have the care of opening the meeting-house and sweeping the same, and taking all the care respecting it that those formerly ap- pointed for that purpose had, for the sum of one pound two shillings and sixpence for three months.
During the next year, John Tichenor received the sum of fourteen shillings for pulling down an old oven and building a new one in the parsonage. In the following year the " old parsonage field " was put again to buckwheat, the parish to have "every fourth bushel, if nobody will give more."
In 1791, it was voted, that Aaron Munn do go through the parish and settle with all delinquents respecting Mr. Chapman's rates, and make report to the Board of Trustees; for which service he was to have a reasonable compensation from the funds of the parish, agreeable to a vote of the same. In June of that year, Deacon Baldwin resigning the treasury, twenty shillings were voted to his daugh- ter Esther " for her services as treasurer for a num- ber of years." In November it appeared that Mr. Munn had spent six days in collecting rates, for which he was rewarded in the sum of as many shillings per day, for "him and horse."
143
RINGING BELL.
It appears that some of the then acting board of trustees put an easy construction upon their oath of office; for in January, 1792, we find the board adjourning to meet again on the 30th of said month, at Samuel Munn's, at sundown, "on forfeiture of six pence." This little addition to the weight of official responsibility appears to have wrought the needed reform. At the day and hour specified, the whole board was present.
The burying-ground was this year let out for pasture to Josiah Quinby at six shillings. It was also enlarged by the purchase of about two acres of ground from the executors of the estate of Simeon Ogden. The meeting-house and parsonage received repairs, the former being newly roofed.
In 1795, Josiah Quinby was engaged to ring the bell through the year on Sabbath and lecture days for £3 10s; Bethuel Pierson to ring it at nine o'clock every evening, for £4; the widow Martha Davison " to sweep the meeting-house and keep it clean all the year" for ₺4 10s. The teacher of the Academy had liberty to ring the meeting-house bell for the use of the school. The parish about this time received a legacy of fifty pounds from the estate of Job Tompkins.
The following advertisement in Wood's Newark Gazette and New Jersey Advertiser* of June 10, 1795, indicates that " building lots" and " boarders"
** N. J. Hist. Soc. Library.
144
BUILDING LOTS.
were beginning to figure in the business nomencla- ture of the village.
" TO BE SOLD,
By way of public vendue, on Saturday the 25th of July, twenty-three building lots, pleasantly sit- uated in Orange Dale, on the main road, opposite the meeting-house, and adjoining the Academy. Four of said lots have a never-failing stream of water running through them, which renders them convenient for the tanning business. On one of said lots there is a well of excellent water, and likewise a number of good fruit-trees dispersed through the different lots, all of which are fronting a road, which renders them convenient for both mercantile and mechanical business. They are situated in a very flourishing part of the country, and would be very convenient for any person or persons who may wish to take in boarders.
MATTHEW CONDIT. JOSEPH CONE.
N. B. Scythe-makers, nailers and silversmiths will find it tend greatly to their interest to settle themselves and carry on their business in this place, as they are much wanted."
The following appears in the same publication.
" THE ACADEMY AT ORANGE DALE
Opened on Tuesday the 17th inst., under the im- mediate instruction of Mr. Wyckoff, who has taught
145
ACADEMY ADVERTISEMENT.
the English and learned languages, the arts and sciences in this place with approbation and success for a number of years. Those who choose to send their children to this institution may be assured that great care and attention will be paid both to their education and morals, under the attendance, direction and influence of a board of trustees annu- ally chosen by the parish for that purpose.
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