The biographical encyclopaedia of New Jersey of the nineteenth century, Part 115

Author: Robson, Charles, ed; Galaxy Publishing Company, publisher
Publication date: 1877
Publisher: Philadelphia, Galaxy publishing company
Number of Pages: 924

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his constituents faithfully and well; and the manner in which he has been constantly advanced to places of in- creased trust and responsibility is the best evidence that, reciprocally, his constituents have appreciated and held in proper esteem his efficient services.

USTIN, REV. DAVID, generally known as the " Prophet," and formerly Pastor of the Presby- terian Church at Elizabethtown, was born in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1760, and was a descend- ant of John Austin, who married, November 5th, 1667, Mercy, daughter of Joshua Atwater, and died in 1690. His father, David Austin, was a highly respectable and prosperous merchant, who held for some time the position of collector of the customs. His daughter, Mary, who resided with her brother in Elizabethtown, became the wife of Rev. Professor Andrew Yates, D. D., of Schenectady, New York. From carly childhood David was trained in pious ways; graduated at Yale College in 1779, having been associated in study with such men as Joel Barlow, Josiah Meigs, Zephaniah Smith, Noah Webster, Oliver Wolcott, Elizur Goodrich, and Roger Griswold; and pursued his theological studies under the direction of Dr. Joseph Bellamy, at Bethlehem, Connecticut. In May, 1780, he was licensed at North Guilford, by the New Haven East Association. Young as he was he preached with singular acceptance, and was earnestly solicited to settle in the ministry. But, declining all such proposals, he went abroad at the close of the war. After spending some time in foreign countries he returned to America, and temporarily supplied the pulpit of the Chelsea (Second) Congregational Church, Norwich, Connecticut, where he became acquainted with the family of Dr. Joseph Lathrop, whose daughter, Lydia, he eventually married. The New Jersey Journal, of Wednesday, September 10th, 1788, says : " Yesterday, in a crowded and solemn assembly, the Rev. David Austin was ordained pastor of the Presbyterian Church in this town (Elizabeth). The Rev. Mr. Roe preached the sermon, Dr. Rogers, who presided, gave the charge to the minister, and Dr. Macwhorter to the people." The erection of the church there was then prosecuted with increased energy ; he secured the building of its " graceful spire," and obtained subscrip- tions for the purchase of a bell. He also evinced a deep interest in the cause of education, and in the promotion of everything connected with the public welfare. One of the first literary enterprises in which he embarked was the pub- lication, bi-monthly, of The Christian's, Scholar's and Farmer's Magazine, whose initial number was for " April and May, 1789." It was printed at East Town, by Shep- ard Kollock, one of the proprietors. At the close of the first year it was spoken of as a success, and was continued through the second year. About the year 1790 he began the publication, by subscription, of "The American

| Preacher," a serial, containing some of the choicest dis- courses of living American divines, without respect to denomination ; the first two volumes were issued January Ist, 1791. Other gentlemen were associated with him in the enterprise, " but it was his work almost wholly." As early as January Ist, 1791, he had begun to take an interest in prophetic studies. "Nor was he, at the time, singular in this respect. The pulpit resounded with earnest utter- ances on the downfall of Babylon, and the speedy coming of the Millennial reign of Christ and his saints." In pur- suing the study of these mysterious oracles he was but yield- ing to the prevailing current of popular opinion. In the spring of 1793 he preached a remarkable discourse, first to his own church, and then, on the evening of April 7th, at New York, that produced a profound sensation. This discourse, delivered from short notes, he subscquently wrote out, amplified, and illustrated with numerous citations. It was printed by Mr. Kollock, and made its appearance, May Ist, 1794, as " The Downfall of Mystical Babylon ; or, a Key to the Providence of God, in the Political Operations of 1793-4." In connection with the sermon he republished Rev. Dr. Bellamy's " Discourse on the Millennium," and Edwards' " Humble Attempt," etc., the whole forming an octavo volume of four hundred and twenty-six pages, with the title, " The Millennium, or the Thousand Years of Prosperity," etc. At the time his teachings were deemed sound and scriptural ; the method of interpretation and the style of argument differed not at all from what was then almost universally accepted. In the year 1795, after a violent visitation of scarlet fever, he became perfectly con- vinced that he had ascertained the precise day of the advent of Christ; and delivered a series of discourses, with wonder- ful animation, and in language of surpassing eloquence. The congregation were deeply moved, " some not knowing what to believe, a few utterly unbelieving, but the greater part carried away with the holy fervor of their beloved pastor. The excitement spread through all the region round about." At length, May 8th, 1796, he announced that the Lord would surely come on the ensuing Lord's day, the 15th. ' Of course a prodigious excitement followed such a startling piece of intelligence. In the midst of the ferment, he " made his arrangements to receive his adorable Lord in a becoming manner. Several young females were selected, for whom white raiment was prepared, that they might attend upon the Lord at his coming." Much of the time during the week was, not unreasonably, occupied with religious exercises; and on the evening of the 14th a crowded and deeply agitated mecting was held in the Methodist church. The long-expected day arrived, the bell tolled, the church was full to overflowing, but the sky was troubled by no unusual visitation. After " long and wcari- some waiting," he preached, taking for his text, " My Lord delayeth his coming." A slight error in the computation of dates had been made-so it was suggested-and some satisfied themselves with the explanation. But the congre-

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gation was distracted, the more substantial portion dis- | was reared as a Congregationalist. He was fitted for col- affected and deeply grieved. He then took the vow of a Nazarite, and gave himself up almost wholly to the work of announcing Christ's coming. His labors were incessant ; often he preached thrice a day, and went cverywhere, through all the neighborhood, calling upon men to repent. In April, 1797, a meeting of the congregation was held in the church, and a committee appointed to wait on him. In his answer to it, he declared that it was his fixed and un- alterable determination to institute a new church, and to set up a new order of things in ecclesiastical concerns, inde- pendent of presbytery, of the synod, or of the Gencral As- sembly. He professed to have received an extraordinary and direct call from God to engage in the work. The con- gregation then again met, April 19th, and determined to apply to the presbytery for a dissolution of the pastoral relation. At its meeting, in New York, the application was received, and on the following day the presbytery called upon him to know if he concurred in it. He thereupon renounced that body's jurisdiction, and withdrew; and the presbytery, after due deliberation, granted the application, and put on record their sense of the whole matter. He supplied for a time, in 1797-98, the pulpit at Greenfield, in Fairfield, Connecticut, and afterward removed to East Haven, and found a home at the house of his uncle, Rev. Nicholas Street, his wife having returned to her father's house in Norwich. At New Haven, he embarked in a building enterprise, involving a large outlay of money, by which he exhausted his resources, and incurred obligations that he was unable to meet. In November, 1799, after returning to Elizabethtown, and " embracing every opportunity of resuming his ministerial work," he announced, in the Journal, the publication of "The First Vibration of the Jubilee Trump." At the announcement of the death of Washington, the corporation, December 24th, requested him to deliver a funcral oration in the Presbyterian church, and he complied with the request. On the following day he performed the same service at the cantonment on Greek Brook, Scotch Plains; and again at Springfield, on the Ist of January. He sought to make converts to his views, and to defend himself against opposers, by a communication in the Journal, of January 28th, 1800, signed " The Pharez of God." He died, it is supposed, in New Jersey, in the earlier years of the present century.

UDD, REV. JOHN CHURCHILL, D. D., Pastor of St. John's (Episcopal) Church, of Elizabeth- town, New Jersey, was born at Norwich, Con- necticut, May 24th, 1779. He was the eldest child of Jonathan Rudd, and Mary Huntington, daughter of Deacon Barnabas Huntington; his grandfather, Samuel, was, probably, a great-grandson of Jonathan, who was at New Haven in 1644. His ancestors were of Puritan faith, and he, inclining to their church,

lege under the tuition of Rev. Samuel Nott, of Norwich, West Farms, now Franklin, Connecticut, but was not favored with a collegiate course. Upon attaining his majority he went to New York, and made that city his home, connecting himself there with the Episcopal Church. Having prepared for the ministry, under the direction of Bishop Moore, and Rev. J. H. Hobart, he was ordained by the former as a deacon, April 28th, 1805, and thereafter was employed for several months as a missionary on Long Island. J. H. Hobart, having married some years pre- viously a daughter of Rev. Dr. Chandler, " doubtless intro- duced him to the pulpit of St. John's Church," where he preached, for the first time, July 21st, 1805. The congre- gation then seldom exceeded a hundred souls, and the com- municants were sixty in number. A new steeple was erected in 1807, and other improvements were made in the church edifice. In 1808 the length of the house was in- creased seventeen feet, and the interior entirely renovated. In 1810 his salary was raised from $500 to $600. In 1813 he became the editor of a new series of The Churchman's Magazine and the place of publication was changed from New York to Elizabethtown. Other improvements were made in the church edifice in 1818; and the parsonage house was rebuilt, at an expense of about $3,000. For several years he conducted. also a classical school in his house with great and merited success. July 3Ist, 1823, the University of Pennsylvania conferred on him the degree of Doctor of Divinity. Owing to the loss of health, and par- ticularly of his voice, he was released from his parochial charge June Ist, 1826, and in the course of the ensuing month removed to Auburn, New York, where, and at Utica, New York, as teacher, rector, and editor of The Gospel Messenger, his remaining days were spent. After suffering greatly, and for many years, from a rheumatic affection, he died at his home in Utica, November 15th, 1848, greatly lamented by his own church and others. His remains, at his own request, were brought to Elizabethtown, and buried, on the 19th, in St. John's church-yard. He was married, January 22d, 1803, at New York, Dr. Hobart officiating, to Phebe Eliza Bennett, daughter of Edward Bennett, of Shrewsbury, New Jersey; she died in October, 1867, aged eighty-eight years, having survived him nearly nineteen years. In addition to his editorial work, he pub- lished, at various periods, more than a dozen discourses, sermons, etc.

ORRELL, REV. THOMAS, known as "Father Morrell," Officer in the Revolutionary Army, late of Elizabethtown, was the eldest child of Jonathan Morrell, and was born at New York, November 22d, 1747. Ilis father was a native of Newtown, Long Island, and a grandson of Thomas Morrell, who was at Gravesend, Long Island, in 1650, and at New-

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town as early as 1655, where he died about 1704. When tidings of the battle of Lexington reached Elizabethtown, a company of volunteers was immediately gathered, of which he, being a leading spirit among his fellows, was chosen Captain. He was in command of one of the boats that captured the " Blue Mountain Valley," off Sandy Hook, January 23d, 1776; and took an active part in the measures adopted to protect the town and neighborhood, during the following summer and autumn, against the British and Hes- sians. In June, 1776, he received a captain's commission, with orders to muster a company of seventy-eight men, and report to General Washington, then at New York. Two companies of militia were parading in front of the Presby- terian church, and from these, by means of a fiery harangue, he filled his quota. They were equipped and ready, at New York, for service, six days after the Declaration of Independence. They were attached to the New Jersey Brigade, under General Heard, of Woodbridge, and in the fatal engagement at Flatbush, August 27th, 1776, were nearly cut to pieces, Their captain fell, severely wounded, and barely escaped destruction. He was removed, first to New York, and then to his father's house in Elizabethtown, where he remained, unable to report for duty, until the advent of Cornwallis and his army of invasion, when he found a place of refuge at the house of Rev. Jonathan Elmer, at New Providence. He was subsequently appointed a Major in the 4th Jersey Regiment, and served through the campaign of 1777, or until the attack on Germantown, Pennsylvania, October 3d, in which he was an active par- ticipant. Ile also distinguished himself in the action at Brandywine, September 11th. His health had now become so much impaired that, with the reluctant assent of Wash- ington, who esteemed him highly, he withdrew from mili- tary service, and resumed his mercantile pursuits, in which he continued thenceforward for a period of nearly ten years. The change which then ensued is best told in his own words : " In the month of October, 1785, I was awak- ened by the preaching of Rev. John Hagerty, and in March, 1786, received the witness of God's Spirit of my acceptance. In June, 1786, I began to preach as a local preacher, in Elizabethtown, and in several parts of the circuit. In March, 1787, I began to ride as a travelling preacher, and rode on Elizabethtown Circuit twenty months with Robert Cloud. At the Conference in New York, in October, 17SS, I was ordained deacon (nearly forty-one years old) and appointed to the Trenton Circuit, with John Merrick and Jethro Johnson. At the June Conference, in New York, In 1789, was ordained an elder, and appointed for that city, with Brother Cloud, who was with me twelve months, and Brother Merrick, four months." He continued at New York, most of the time, for nearly five years, residing at No. 32 John street. During the first six months he built the Forsyth Street Church, the funds for which he raised him- self The church was dedicated November 8th, 1789. great revival followed, resulting in four hundred conversions,

and two hundred accessions to the society, within nine weeks from January Ist, 1790. At the Conference of that year he was appointed Presiding Elder for the district in- cluding New York, East Town, Long Island, New Rochelle, and Newburgh Circuits. In the winter of 1791-92 he travelled with Bishop Asbury through the Southern States. He was stationed several months at Charleston, and returned to New York in June, 1792. In March, 1794, he left the city, and retired to Elizabethtown, having found in the society at the former place, in 1789, about three hundred members, and left it with more than eight hundred and fifty. During the ensuing winter he was stationed at Philadelphia, but, in consequence of a severe illness, was laid aside for about four years. In 1799 he was stationed at Baltimore, Maryland, and there remained for two years. In May, ISO1, though appointed to New York, he returned to his home and there remained for about a year. In 1802, with his newly-married wife, he consented to be stationed at New York ; but in February, IS04, he retired from the itinerant connection, and became a permanent resident of Elizabeth- town. The meeting-house of the Methodist Society had been built soon after the organization of the church; it was a small frame building, adapted to the wants of a feeble congregation. In this humble structure once, at least, every Sabbath, he took delight in preaching to all who came. At the time of his return to the town he was preaching in the Presbyterian church. When the congregation voted against continuing him in their service, his friends procured for him the use of the Methodist church. The division in the Pres- hyterian church then induced quite a number of families to attach themselves to his lively and energetic ministry. During a period of more than thirty-four years he continued in the faithful discharge of his duties as a Christian minister, rarely failing to preach once every Sabbath, until he had attained his eighty seventh year. As " Father Morrell," he was known, revered, and greatly honored by all classes of people in the town, many from the other churches, the young as well as the old, " resorting frequently to hear the old soldier discourse of the great salvation." Ile took an active part in all measures for the improvement of the town, and especially in those designed for the advancement of morality and religion. On all patriotic occasions-Fourth of July celebrations, etc .- he was invariably present as actor or spectator. During the war of 1812-15 his counsels and other services were freely tendered, and were invaluable ; and, so late as July 4th, 1828, at fourscore years of age, he delivered an oration in the Presbyterian church, " full of patriotic fire, and worthy of the occasion." On the 9th of August, 1838, after a severe illness of six months' duration, he died, in his ninety-first year, having been a faithful and honored minister of the gospel for more than fifty-two years. " Ile was rather short in stature, but strongly built. Ihis neck was short, his head not large, his eye bright and blue, his lips thin, and his whole appearance indicative of much more than ordinary firmness." Ile was

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Thrice marrie 1. The name of his first wife, whoni he mar ried about October ist, 1759, has not been preserved; she was the mother of two children, Elizabeth B., and Catharine, who married Benjamin Wade. His second wife-Bishop Asbury officiating-was Lydia, a daughter of George Frazee, of Westfield , she had three children : Francis Asbury, Cath- arine, who married Rev. Wilham A. Wilmer, and Francis Asbury (2d), who married Mary, a daughter of Jonathan Griffith. His third wife was Eunice, widow of Theodorus James Hamilton, a well-known merchant of Elizabethtown; she was the daughter of Uzal Woodruff and Elizabeth, daughter of Samuel Ogden and Hannah Hatfield , she had but one child, Eunice Theodosia, who became the second wife of Hon. Apollos Morrell Elmer, a grandson of Rev. Jonathan Elmer.

RANE, GENERAL WILLIAM, Patriot of the Revolution, late of Elizabethtown, New Jersey, was born in that place, in 1748; and was the son of Hon. Stephen Crane, a prominent and useful citizen of the troublous period of the con- test between America and Great Britain; he was the son of Daniel, and grandson of Stephen Crane, " the Planter," of Elizabethtown. Being in the full vigor of his early manhood at the beginning of the revolutionary war he at once espoused his country's cause, and, in common with several of his townsmen, attached himself, as Lieu- tenant of an artillery company, to the Canada expedition, under Montgomery. At the time of his commander's fall, before Quebec, December 31st, 1775, he received a bomb- shell wound in one of his ankles, from which he suffered until his death, nearly forty years afterward. Says Rev. Edwin F. Hatfield, in his excellent " History of Elizabeth ": " One act more of aggressive hostility, on the part of citizens of this town, March, 1783, remains to be narrated. It will be told in the words of Major William Crane, the leader of the enterprise, as written the next day : ' I have the pleasure to inform you of the capture of the sloop " Katy," of twelve double-fortified twelve-pounders, containing one hundred and seventeen puncheons of Jamaica spirits, lying, at the time of capture, within pistol-shot of the grand battery at New York, and alongside of the ship " Eagle," of twenty- four guns, which we also took, but were obliged to leave there, as she lay aground. The captains and crews of both the vessels were brought up by us in the sloop to this place, where we have them secure. This was performed on the night of the 3d of March (Monday), by six townsmen, un- der the command of Captain Quigley and myself, without the firing of a musket by any of our party.'" The vessel and cargo were sold at auction, at Elizabethtown, Monday, March 17th, following. For various acts of bravery, and eminent services on the field, he was promoted, after the war, to a Brigadiership of militia. In 1807 he was ap-

pointed Deputy Mayor of the borough, and from that date also was a Trustee of the Presbyterian Church until his de- ccase. The New Jersey Journal, of July 12th, 1814, has this notice : " Died on Saturday last (9th), General William Crane, in the sixty-seventh year of his age. In the year 1775 he entered the Continental service, and at the reduction of St. John's, or Montreal, received a wound in his leg, which was never cured. About seventeen months since, his leg was amputated, with flattering prospects, but that last resort had been too long deferred, and he fell a victim to the in- curable wound. Ilis character as a citizen and soldier stood pre-eminent, and he lived beloved, and died lamented. His funeral was attended, on Sunday, by a vast concourse of people from this and the neighboring parishes, who testified his worth as a man."

RANE, COMMODORE WILLIAM M., United States Navy, son of General William Crane, who served as an officer in the revolutionary army, was born in Elizabethtown, New Jersey, February Ist, 1776. In May, 1799, he entered the navy as Midshipman; in July, 1803, was made a Lieu- tenant, and served before Tripoli, under Commodore Ed- ward Preble, and was present at all the attacks made on the city. He was serving on board the "Chesapeake " at the time of her action with the " Leopard." At the commence- ment of the war with England he was appointed to the command of the brig " Nautilus," of fourteen guns, in which he was captured, in July, 1812, by a British squadron, soon after sailing from New York. On his exchange he was ordered to the Lakes, where, in command of the " Madison and Pike," in the squadron of Commodore Chauncey, he served with distinction for the remainder of the war. From 1815 until the time of his decease he was very constantly employed in important services. During one cruise of over four years in the Mediterranean he com- manded successively the " Independence " ship-of-the-line, the " Erie " sloop, and the frigates " Constellation " and " United States." .In 1827 he was appointed to command the American squadron in that sea, the " Delaware" ship of- the-line bearing his flag. While on this service he acted as joint Commissioner with Mr. Offley, United States consul at Smyrna, to open negotiations with the Ottoman govern- ment preliminary to a commercial treaty, which was soon afterward concluded. In 1841 he was appointed Navy Commissioner; and in 1842, when the Navy Department was reorganized, was made Chief of the Bureau of Ord- nance and Hydrography, which he administered until near the close of his days. In this last-named position he de- monstrated yet more conspicuously his high administrative ability, his department being managed with admirable efficiency and economy. He died in Washington, District of Columbia, March 18th, 1846.

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INCII, FREDERICK A., M. D., Physician and Surgeon, in Westfield, was born in New York city, March 12th, 1822. His parents died while he was quite young, consequently he was thrown upon his own resources and energy for his future success in life. This circumstance, which would have discouraged many, seems in his case to have served as an incentive. He attended the public schools during his boyhood and youth, and on arriving at years of ma- turity engaged in teaching in Mount Hope, Orange county, New York, and at the same time he spent his leisure hours and evenings in the study of medicine and surgery under the instruction of Drs. Wm. C. Terry and D. F. Graham. After the study of medicine and surgery for four years, including his attendance upon lectures in the Univer- sity of the City of New York, he was admitted to practise by the New York State Medical Society; and in 1849, re- moving to Westfield, New Jersey, commenced the practice of medicine and surgery in that place. In accordance with the laws of the State then in force, he submitted to an examination before the State Medical Society of New Jersey, and received his license May Ist, 1851. He has continued to practise in Westfield and vicinity up to the present; hav- ing acquired a comfortable competence and a happy home, and having devoted all his time and ability to relieve suffer- ing humanity and assuage the maladies of mankind, he feels rewarded by a grateful people, and the smiles of a kind and beneficent Providence. He was married to Harriet Little, daughter of Colonel William S. Little, of Mount Hope, Orange county, New York, February 6th, 1850. Ile is a member of the District Medieal Society of the County of Union, and in 1873-74 occupied the Presidential chair.

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The biographical encyclopaedia of New Jersey of the nineteenth century, Part 115

Author: Robson, Charles, ed; Galaxy Publishing Company, publisher Publication date: 1877 Publisher: Philadelphia, Galaxy publishing company Number of Pages: 924

Author: Robson, Charles, ed; Galaxy Publishing Company, publisher
Publication date: 1877
Publisher: Philadelphia, Galaxy publishing company
Number of Pages: 924