USA > New Jersey > Somerset County > Basking Ridge > The Presbyterian Church in Basking Ridge, N.J. : a historical discourse delivered by the pastor, Rev. John C. Rankin, D.D., August 11th, 1872 > Part 2
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Mr. McKnight's successor here was the Rev. Joseph Lamb, who was graduated at Yale College in 1717, and ordained by the Presbytery of Long Island on the 6th of December of the same year. The scene of his first labors was Long Island, but in 1744, having been called to Basking Ridge, he removed to this place, and became a member of the Presbytery of New Brunswick. No particulars of his pastorate here are known. Dr. Brownlee speaks of him as "a Scottish worthy"; but he was probably a native of Connecticut, though of Scotch descent. He is the first of the pastors of this church who died in her service. His sepul- chre is with us, and his tombstone bears the following inscription, here transcribed for the double purpose of throwing light on the character of his preaching, and as a specimen of the obituary literature of the age. "Here lies the remains of the Rev'd. Joseph Lamb, who departed this life, July the 28th, A. D. 1749. Etatis Suae 60.
The terrors dire from Sinai's Mount, Thy mouth did once proclaim, As well as messages of grace In thy great Master's name. But with pure ethereal fires, With Seraphim above ; We hope and trust thou now dost sing The wonders of his love."
The congregation has so grown under his ministry that the original log-house was no longer large enough to contain the audience. It was, therefore, taken down, and the venerable frame building which stood for ninety years, and was then superseded by the present house, was erected. According to a well-authenti- cated tradition, the frame of that building was put up on the very
14
day of Mr. Lamb's death. A brief description of it will be given at another point in the narrative; but it was doubtless, in size and comfort, a decided improvement on the old log-house. With Mr. Lamb, the days of our juvenility may be said to have passed away. We now became firm and strong.
Following him came the Rev. Samuel Kennedy, M.D., who was born in Scotland, in the year 1720, and received his educa- tion in the University of Edinburgh. His theological studies were pursued in this country under the care of the Presbytery of New Brunswick, by which he was licensed to preach in 1748 and ordained in 1750. His settlement here took place in June, 175I, and lasted thirty-six years, i. e., until his death, August 3Ist, 1787. The character and fate of the records he kept have been mentioned above. For a little more than half the time of his ministry, however, i. e., from 1764, we have the Trustee book already described, containing more or less full accounts of the proceedings of the congregation. From this time, therefore, we come into clearer light, though for many years still the record is very meagre. The first record in this volume is in these words : "The following is the account and proceedings of the committee appointed by the Presbyterian congregation of Bernardstown (formerly called Basking Ridge) to receive and dispose of the money left to said congregation by Mr. Samuel Brown, in and by his last will and testament, which bears date the 17th day of June, 1763." This committee consisted of Edward Lewis, John Carle and Nathaniel Ayers, who were chosen on the 12th of November, 1764. The money bequeathed was £200, the interest of which, according to the terms of the will, was "to be yearly, every year, from generation to generation forever, paid unto the regular Presbyterian minister of the congregation for his support."
Many items of interest might be extracted from this book. Among the first things found in it is a plan of the house of worship as it then stood. It contained fifty-two seats on the floor, and twenty-six in the gallery-seventy-eight in all. This is the frame building which in 1749 had superseded the original log- house. It seems to have been about fifty-five feet long by thirty- five wide, having its length east and west, with pulpit in the north side, and the greater part of the seats running lengthwise of the house, with the inevitable "sounding-board," no doubt, over the minister's head.
The Pride of the Community.
.2
I5
Among the earliest entries these statements occur : "It was agreed that the congregation shall take the parsonage place in its own care, and instead thereof, pay Mr. Kennedy £20 yearly as an addition to his salary"; for the first year thereafter, it was rented for f9, and for several succeeding years for £12. This arrangement, with a salary of £IIO above the parsonage rent, seems to have lasted many years. In 1786 a new contract was made with Mr. Kennedy, whereby he was to receive £120 yearly and the "benefit of the parsonage free, the house and land kept in repair and fire-wood cut and delivered without any of his expense." The sexton's salary at this time was fifteen dollars per annum, and, as a sample of the thorough democracy of the age, it is stated that the parish meeting of the same year, "ap- pointed Joseph Roy and Joseph Annin, to give out the lines, and John Annin and Jeremiah Sutton, clerks, to sing."
Passing from this old volume to other sources of information, it is known that Mr. Kennedy was, for a considerable time, at the head of a classical school in this place. Being a highly accom- plished scholar and possessing great wisdom and energy as a disciplinarian, his school was extensively patronized and sent many of its pupils to the College of New Jersey. He was distinguished for the purity and elevation of his Christian character, and made it manifest to all by his daily conversation, that he walked with God. For the following incident touching his ministry, we are indebted to the Rev. Samuel Kennedy Talmadge, D.D., whose father was an elder of this church at this period, and named his son after his pastor, as a token of his high regard for him. "There had been a season of unusual coldness in the church, and the pastor had become not a little discouraged in view of the apparent fruitlessness of his labors. On a certain Sabbath, at the close of public services, he resolved to spend the whole of the following week in earnest prayer and devout study, with a view to prepare a sermon that might rouse the congregation from this spiritual torpor. He fulfilled his purpose-immediately selecting his text for the next Sabbath, and devoting the whole of the intervening week to maturing and arranging his thoughts. When the Sabbath came he felt strong in the belief that he had produced a sermon that would move his people; and confidently expected to witness some special tokens of the Divine presence. After singing and prayer, he gave out the second hymn, and took his
I6
Bible to open to the text. But, strange to tell, he could not call it to his mind-text, chapter, book, even subject, had deserted him. The congregation had finished singing, and in a half-bewildered state he rose and gave out another hymn. He turned over the leaves of the Bible, hoping to find some passage on which he could found an extemporaneous discourse; and his eyes lighted re- peatedly on one text upon which he thought he might say some- thing-if my memory serves me, it was-"The wicked shall be turned into hell and all the nations that forget God." The sing- ing being again concluded, he rose, overwhelmed with agitation and distress, and preached a sermon which melted down the whole congregation and was the commencement of a wonderful revival of religion. He said he had never in his life before enjoyed so much freedom or exercised so much power in the pulpit. He went home weeping and rejoicing; saying that God had answered his prayers in a manner fitted at once to humble the unworthy instrument and to exalt the riches of his own grace.
Of this revival I find no other record, but cannot doubt its reality. In his "Annals of the Presbyterian Pulpit," Dr. Sprague says : "Mr. Kennedy was very diligent in the discharge of his pastoral duties, and his labors among his own people and else- where were eminently successful. Several extensive revivals of religion occurred under his ministry, in consequence of which his church greatly increased in both numbers and strength. His influence was by no means confined to his own congregation, but extended to the whole surrounding region, and operated nowhere perhaps more powerfully than in the judicatories of the church."
Living as he did during the turbulent times of the revolution, it is not uninteresting to remember that one of his parishioners during the whole of his ministry was William Alexander, famil- iarly known as Lord Stirling, an intimate and trusted friend of Washington; and also that while he was here that self-conceited and much overestimated man, Gen. Charles Lee, was, on the 13th of December, 1776, captured by the British dragoons, from the house now occupied by James H. Thompson, Esq.
The grave of Mr. Kennedy is with us, and also that of his wife, who, by seven months, preceded him to Heaven. The poetry of his epitaph is an improvement on that of his predecessor.
17
"GOD's holy law thy mouth proclaimed, Pure Gospel flowed through every vein, To dying men they lips proclaimed The glory of thy Saviour's name. Sleep then beneath this earthly clod, Thy flesh shall see its Saviour-God, Till the bright morning shall appear, And thou thy Saviour's image bear."
For nearly eight years after his death the pulpit of this church was vacant; but in the winter of 1795 Mr. Robert Finley, a young licentiate of great promise, was sent by the Presbytery of New Brunswick to preach for a few Sabbaths. The attention of the congregation was soon fixed upon him as a pastor. During this long vacancy they had become divided and distracted, but with singular unanimity and high hopes all parties united in the call for his services. It was accepted and his installation took place on the 17th of June, 1795.
From this date begins the brightest period of our history. Mr. Finley was young (24), healthy, ardent, judicious, highly edu- cated and eminently pious. A volume might be written respecting his labors here if time permitted. With his pastorate our Ses- sional Records begin and are thenceforward complete. The first recorded meeting of the session was held in September, 1795, when, with the Pastor, the following Elders were present, viz. : John Carle, Hugh Callwell, Henry Southard, Thomas Kirk- patrick, Philip Lindsley, Jacob Rickey, David Lyon, Jno. Annin and Robert Dayton-9. These, it is believed, were all the mem- bers of session at that time.
The first roll of church members that has reached us was formed in 1804. There were then two hundred and twenty-seven communicants of, whom seventy-four were in membership before Mr. Finley's settlement; and one hundred and twenty-seven had been received within the preceding twelve months. This large ingathering was part of the great work of grace which spread with such wonderful rapidity and power over the whole country about that time. The preceding seven years of Mr. Finley's ministry had not been particularly successful, only twenty-five per- sons having been added to the roll of communicants within that period. But now a blessed harvest was granted, and many precious sheaves were gathered. Among these, and probably the last survivor of them all, was Sally Lewis (Mrs. Sarah Dayton), who, in the eighty-eighth year of her age, left us but a few months
18
ago for her heavenly rest. It ought to be recorded here, also, that during this precious ingathering of souls our Friday evening lec- ture and prayer-meeting was instituted, and that it has never been intermitted since, not even when the pulpit was vacant. May it ever be appreciated by all who are within the reach of an easy attendance, as an important means of grace both to their own souls and to the general interests of the congregation !
The remaining years of Dr. Finley's ministry were accom- panied with accessions to the church of from one to twenty-four each year, by which the church was still more enlarged and strengthened. In 1815 especially a very precious work of grace occurred, the influence of which is felt to this day. The celebrated classical school, which he conducted with so much ability, shared largely in the blessing, and nearly every member in the advanced class for that year was hopefully converted. Some nine or ten of them became preachers of the gospel, of whom the Rev. B. C. Taylor, D.D., pastor of the Reformed church in Bergen, still survives. His recollections of the scenes of that revival are of thrilling interest.
Dr. Finley was a man of commanding influence, who swayed the mind of his people, and largely of those around him wherever he went, almost at his pleasure. Bad boys were not unfrequently sent to his school with special reference to this trait of his char- acter ; and in some places this circumstance gave to our beautiful village the unenviable soubriquet of Botany Bay. Not all, how- ever, of his pupils were of the class just named. Many were most exemplary in life, and in subsequent years took high rank among the most distinguished men of the country, of whom may be named, Theodore Frelinghuysen, Samuel L. Southard, Commo- dore Stockton, David Kirkpatrick, Wm. L. Dayton, and others.
The pastor of this church was one of the first, if not the very first, who introduced into his school and congregation the system of Bible class instruction, which has since become such a mighty engine for good. Through his influence mainly it was endorsed and recommended to all the churches, first by his Presbytery, then by the Synod of New York and New Jersey, to which he belonged, and then by the General Assembly. Through his instrumentality undoubtedly, more than any other man, was established the Amer- ican Colonization Society, which has done so much for the colored race, both in this country and in Africa. He visited the City of
19
Washington, conferred with President Madison, Henry Clay, John Randolph and other leading men, and arranged and was present at the public meeting, on Saturday, the 28th of December, 1816, when it was organized, with Bushrod Washington as its first President.
His mind seems ever to have been on the stretch for measures of usefulness. Early and late, within and without the boundaries of his own parish, he was ever at work. So busy was he that on one occasion, having taken an early breakfast, he was about to leave home without observing the usual form of family prayers. His foot was actually in the stirrup to mount his horse, when the good elder at whose house he was staying reminded him of the omission, quietly remarking, "you may have need of them before night." The gentle rebuke was accepted, the duty at once attended to, and the order of the family never neglected after- wards. In 1801, in addition to his other labors, we find that the parish meting actually appointed him general collector of his own salary, in connection with several assistants. In most of the local improvements of the village and neighborhood he was first to see and advise, and then foremost to carry out.
As a preacher he was gifted with unusual powers both of speech and of action. Would that I could reproduce one or two of the scenes connected with his ministry! During the great revival of 1803, after unfolding the atonement of Christ, its wonderful fullness, freeness and efficacy, he came at the close to warn his hearers against the sin and danger of slighting such an amazing provision. He represented the wrath of God against such conduct as a boiling gulf, toward which sinners were rapidly floating, and when they were just ready to fall over the precipice into the abyss below, by a bold stroke which only a master could give, he seemed at once to throw himself between them and their awful doom, exclaiming, "Stand back! stand back! Oh, sinners, let me push you away from this fiery deep"; when the whole assembly, as if moved by an electric impulse, assumed a half- rising posture as though they would recede from the fearful doom. On another occasion, in preaching his farewell sermon, he fell upon his knees, and delivered the latter part of his sermon in that posture, without in the least suggesting the idea that his action was overwrought or affected.
20
Before dismissing his ministry, it should be stated that imme- diately after the great revival of 1803 the house of worship was found too small for the congregation, and was, therefore, en- larged by adding twenty-eight pews on the floor and twelve in the gallery, making one hundred and eighteen pews altogether. It is a little singular that this addition on the floor was almost exactly what was repeated in our late enlargement, and that it made the house then precisely what it is now, as to the number of seats. The number of pews then rented was one hundred and one, and the highest rent paid was $14.74, the seats on the right and left of the pulpit being valued considerably higher than those in other parts of the house.
The liberality of the congregation at that date, and the general spirit of the age as to benevolent contributions, may be judged of by two receipts carefully filed among the papers of the trustees, and on which a venerable name, very familiar to some of us, is found. David Comfort, treasurer of the Presbytery of New Brunswick, acknowledged $18, as given in 1809, and $27.75, in 18II, for benevolent purposes. These figures probably express all that was done for outside objects in those years. Last year our aggregate was $705-more than twenty-five times as much, with a membership about equal.
Dr. Finley's pastoral relation with this church was dissolved April 22, 1817, having lasted about twenty-one years. He was released, with great reluctance on all hands, that he might accept the Presidency of the University of Georgia which had been ten- dered him. He went thither ( Athens, Georgia) at the advice of his brethren, and entered at once with great earnestness into the labors of his new field, but was soon arrested by a fatal disease, and died on the third of November of the same year. His widow and family returned to this place, and remained here a few years. Of his nine children, four were sons, all of whom were graduated at the College of New Jersey, and all became ministers of the Gospel except the youngest, who died while pursuing his theo- logical studies. Mrs. Finley died September 23, 1844, in Leb- anon, Illinois, while on a visit to her eldest son.
The successor of Dr. Finley to the pulpit of this church was the Rev. William C. Brownlee, D.D., who began his labors on the 30th of April, 1818, and was installed as pastor on the 9th of June following. The congregation was now large and strong, covering
2I
the whole township of Bernards, and running over almost an equal territory in the adjoining county of Morris. The people came mostly on foot or on horseback, or in an occasional farm wagon, from New Vernon, from Long Hill, from Stony Hill, from Liberty Corner, from Mine Brook, and from the Mountains toward Mendham. No other church as yet existed in all this space. Now there are eleven congregations besides our own in the same territory.
One of the first works done by the new pastor was to visit the entire congregation, and take a complete census of his parish- ioners. This was done in about three months, beginning in the autumn after his settlement. As the result, he records the names of two hundred and sixty families, comprising in all seventeen hundred individuals, whose names, with the ages of many, are given with scrupulous exactness. This list is interesting and instructive in several ways. It shows the size and strength of the congregation, with the large field in which the pastor was called to operate. It shows, moreover, that families had not learned in these early days to scatter abroad as they have done since. Among the heads of families, seven bear the name of Doty; six each the name of Lyon, Lewis and Saunders; five each the name of Cooper, Southard, Cross, Hand and Miller; four of Ayres, Riggs, Boyle, Lindsley, Kirkpatrick, Annin, Heath, McMurtry, Guerin and Wilson; and more than a dozen other names have three families each to represent them. The size of families, too, is another impressive feature of this list; from eight to twelve olive plants around the table was the common size of the house- hold. In one instance, the good pastor, after recording the names of twelve living children, adds, "and three dead," without giving their names. In another instance he chronicles the fact that a certain woman was the mother of eighteen children, nine sons and nine daughters. Undoubtedly the average family was much larger then than it is at present. How are we to account for the difference? Still another impressive lesson from this list is as to the rapidity with which congregations change and names pass away. The two hundred and sixty families then numbered, comprised one hundred and forty-one names. Of these only fifty now remain among us. Ninety-one names have become extinct in the congregation in fifty years. Others have taken their places, but these, where are they? Gone, not only from here,
22
but many of them from history altogether! Oh, hand of time- what a blotting out dost thou make as thou sweepest over the face of society !
Dr. Brownlee began his labors here under very favorable auspices. In the prime of life (about 35), in a large field where good seed had been sown, with a flourishing academy, we might reasonably look for the most favorable results. Nor are we disappointed; each year of his ministry was a year of ingather- ing, but especially so was the year 1822. During the whole sum- mer of that year the Lord was pleased to pour out His Spirit upon the congregation, and in October one hundred and four persons were added to the membership of the church, on profes- sion of their faith in Christ, the largest addition ever made at one time. Thirty-eight were baptized at the time of their recep- tion. From this large accession, fifty years ago, only two are now left among us .*
The record of their admissions is careful to state that "they were all examined :
"I. On personal religion, the state of their exercises, feelings, etc.
"2. On the doctrines of God's Word, taken up systematically ; on the being of God; on the Scriptures, divine decrees, election, limited atonement, etc., etc.
"3. On the nature, authority, uses, ends, etc., of the holy sacraments."
Surely nothing but true and intelligent piety could undergo all this.
Dr. Brownlee was a broad-shouldered, large-headed, round-faced Scotchman, with resolution and thoroughness written on every feature and expressed in every tone. He must have been a very rigid disciplinarian, or the members of his church, many of them, notwithstanding their examination, must have been very loose in their deportment, for at almost every meeting of the Session some one was under trial, often three or four, and sometimes half a dozen at once. Not having their children baptized was an offense calling for discipline in those days, though most of the charges preferred were of a more criminal nature. His pastorate closed in October, 1825, having lasted seven and a half years.
* One of this number, Mrs. E. R. Fairchild, still lives (March 24th, 1892).
23
He was called from here to the professorship of languages in Rutgers College, New Jersey, as his predecessor had been to the presidency of Athens College, Georgia. From there he was called to be collegiate pastor of the Reformed Protestant Church in the city of New York, in June, 1826. For nearly twenty years there- after he was among the most prominent men of the country as a scholar, a preacher, a pastor and a controversialist. Few then gave to Romanism harder blows than he. But, alas! while in the prime of his life he was stricken with paralysis, from which, after lingering more than sixteen years, he died February 10th, 1860, leaving a fragrant memory and an enviable reputation. It may probably be unknown to many present that soon after leaving here he wrote two tracts of considerable size having their scenes in this field. "The General's Widow" and "The Spoiled Child" were their titles. They were published by the American Tract Society, and may yet be had at its depository.
Dr. Brownlee's successor was the Rev. John C. Van Dervoort, who was installed in September, 1826. From this time onward the events of our history are so recent, and there are so many living witnesses to all that has transpired that a few sentences will serve to convey all that need now be said. Mr. Van Dervoort was an earnest, warm-hearted, evangelical preacher, whose labors were blessed and crowned by the ingathering of many souls into the church. In 1829, especially, there was an unusual work of grace, in which fifty-six persons were hopefully converted and enrolled as members. On the whole, however, the strength of the congregation rather declined during the ten years of his ministry. The classical school, though continued, was not as flourishing as formerly. New Vernon organized a church for itself, and took away considerable strength on that side. A little later Liberty Corner followed in the same action on another side. In the meantime the agricultural resources of the neighborhood had suffered very materially by unwise husbandry, and emigra- tion of families and young men had set in as the necessary con- sequence. All this was loss to our congregation in particular, though not to the church of Christ as a whole.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.