USA > New Jersey > The early Germans of New Jersey : their history, churches, and genealogies. > Part 8
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voters then and there present, viz .: Isaac Roelofson, Jacob Karn, Philip Weise, Andrew Weise, William Nachrite, Frederick Swackhamer and Joseph Karr, who, having chosen Jacob Karn as president and Andrew Weise secretary, took upon themselves the name of Trustees of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Valley, Washington township, Morris county, by which name they will hereafter be known in law ; and on the 10th day of June the above-named gentlemen were sworn into office be- fore Nicholas Neighbor, Esq., one of the Justices of the Peace for the County of Warren and the State of New Jersey, accord- ing to the oath hereunto subjoined. Witness our hands this Ioth day of June, A. D. 1815.
Although the election took place sixty-one years ago, I am happy to say one of that Board of Trustees, F. Swackhamer, is with us to-day, and is still an office-bearer in the church. The record gives the names of seventy-five persons baptized by Dr. Hazelius.
Among these names we find the following : First on the list, Lambert Bowman, son of David Neighbor, October 29th, 1809 ; Lawrence Hagar, John H. Weise, Catharine Naughright, Jacob Weise, Sylvester Neighbor, Philip Welsh Swackhammer, Samuel Karn, David Swackhammer, &c. These are still familiar names in the Valley.
Dr. Hazelius was succeeded by the
REV. DR. HENDRICKS,
a graduate of Union College, Schnectady, N. Y., and who had studied theology under the direction of the Rev. Frederick Mayer at Albany.
Rev. Hendricks took charge of this pastorate in August, 1816, and labored here six years, when he accepted a call to the Lutheran Church at Saddle River, N, J .; of his subsequent his- tory I have no source of information. His records were im- perfectly kept, and from them we learn that during his ministry he baptized ninety-eight children. Among these are the fol- lowing familiar names : Isaac Roelofson, Isaac Stryker, Mar- garet Stelts, Isaiah Trimmer, Isaac Swackhammer, States N. Weise, &c., &c. On the resignation of Rev. Hendricks, a call was extended to
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REV. HENRY N. POHLMAN
the first graduate of Hartwick Seminary, who had recently left that institution, and had been preaching for the church at Saddle River, N. J.
Dr. Polhman took charge of the churches at New German- town, German Valley and Spruce Run in the month of August, 1822, and labored here most acceptably and efficiently for twenty-one years.
His records in the Church Book are beautifully written. The following is his first entry : "On the ist of August, 1822, in consequence of an invitation from the Board of Trustees of Zion Church, New Germantown, the Rev. H. N. Pohlman visited that place and preached with approbation in the several churches."
Elections were held after public worship in each of the con- gregations at New Germantown, German Valley and Spruce Run on the 12th, 13th and 14th of said month, when it was unanimously resolved, "that the Rev. Henry N. Pohlman be called as rector of the three united congregations."
Accordingly, after a general meeting of the trustees of the said congregations held at the Valley on the 18th, the following call was presented to the said Rev. Henry N. Pohlman and was accepted by him on the 26th at a meeting of the Evangel- ical Lutheran Synod assembled in Schoharie, N. Y., in the presence of F. C. Schaffer and Lewis Ernest Hazelius.
Then followed the call which was signed by the trustees of each church.
The following are the names of the church officers who represented this church : Jacob Karn, Isaac Roelofson, Joseph Karn, Jacob Weise, Andrew Weise, John Dufford, John Duse- bery, William Naughright.
Dr. Pohlman was installed on the 20th of November, 1822, by the Rev. F. C. Schaffer, of New York. One of the most important events of Dr. Pohlman's pastorate was the building of a new church. This took place in the year 1832.
Up to this time the two congregations in the Valley-the Presbyterian (formerly German Reformed) and the Lutheran had occupied the old stone church. But now both congrega-
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tions conclude that it was not advisable to continue this part- nership arrangement any longer, and the two
CONGREGATIONS SEPARATED.
Hence this year each congregation built their own church and they have been separate and independent of each other ever since.
THE NEW CHURCH
which forms the three walls of the present edifice was 40x45 feet from outside to outside, built of stone on this lot which was presented by Neitzer W. Weise, Esq. The following is the record of the laying of the corner stone : "The corner stone of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, to be known hereafter by the name of Zion Church, German Valley, was laid with due solemnity and in proper place on Whitsun Monday, the 11th day of June, 1832, and in the fifty-seventh year of the Indepen- dence of the United States of North America, under the direc- tion of Henry N. Pohlman, pastor, Jacob Karn, Jacob Weise, John Dusebery, John Dufford, Jr., Philip Karr, Trustees ; Jacob Karn, Jacob Weise, F. Swackhammer, Building Committee ; David Bulmer, master carpenter : John Gray, master mason." Conscious that except the Lord build the house they labor in vain that build it, the commenced work was then solemnly committed to the superintendence of the all-glorious Architect and Governor of the Universe, and the congregation dismissed with the usual benediction. The following is the Doctor's record of the consecration of this church :
Through the smiles of an ever kind and gracious Providence the work commenced in His fear, was duly finished and on the 25th of November, the pastor had the pleasure of consecrating it to the worship of the triune God in the presence of a crowded and attentive audience."
The Rev. W. D. Strobel, of St. James' Church, New York, who kindly assisted on the occasion, then led the minds of his willing hearers to an exemplification of the duties connected with the sanctuary by addressing them from Ist Tim., III, 15 : " That thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth." The pastor followed in an
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address from Ps. V, 7 : "But as for me I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercies and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple."
May the solemnities of that day never be forgotten.
May the eyes of the Lord be open towards his house day and night ! May He abundantly bless His people into whose hearts He hath put it to build a house for His name, and may they be built up a spiritual temple-an habitation of God through the spirit, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, Amen. May this prayer of the former, and now sainted pastor, be yet more fully answered. The following is the report of the Building Committee :
The Building Committee of Zion Church beg leave to report that in attending to the duties assigned them they have ex- pended the following sums :
To the master builders as per contract $1,355.00
Materials and payment of workmen. 619.9114
To the purchase of stoves and pipe, trimming for pulpit, &c. 175.47
Making whole cost of the church. $2,144.3814 Of this amount all was paid or subscribed except $230.88 14.
At a meeting held in 1840 we find this resolution:
RESOLVED, That John Gulick be appointed sexton and that he be allowed $5 per annum for his services.
Labor was cheap in those days.
LUTHERAN CENTENARY.
At a meeting of the church officers in January, 1842, the fol- lowing resolution was passed :
RESOLVED, That depending upon the blessing of Him who loves the cheerful giver, we will endeavor to raise during the centenary year $500, to be applied as a permanent fund to the benefit of our beloved Zion, and hereafter to be known as the centenary fund of the Evangelical Lutheran Zion Church, German Valley.
RESOLVED, That the collectors, John Naughright, A. Howell, J. Dufford, P. Hann and G. Dufford, be special agents to receive
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subscriptions for the centenary fund and that the pastor be general agent for the same purpose.
This was the centenary of American Lutheranism, which dates back to 1742, the year that the Rev. Henry M. Muhlen- berg, D. D., came to this country.
Another interesting item for this year is the report of the Trustees that the pastor's salary was paid regularly in full and $5 still in treasury.
On the 28th of July, 1843, Dr. Pohlman resigned this charge and on the moth of September preached his farewell sermon, having accepted a call to the Lutheran Church in Albany, New York. While pastor here Dr. Pohlman received eighty mem- bers into the church by confirmation and baptized 320 children.
The name of Dr. Pohlman is still fresh in the memory of the most of us gathered here to-day. Although it is more than thirty years ago since he left this charge, up to the day of his death, he never forgot his old and tried friends in the Valley, neither is he forgotten by you. His circle of friends and ad- mirers was not confined to his own church and his own denom- ination and of him it may be truly said to-day, "The memory of the just is blessed." Few, if any, men in the Lutheran Church in this country were more widely known or more highly honored.
At three different times he was elected President of the General Synod, while for many consecutive years he presided at the meetings of the New York Ministerium, New York Synod, and Synod of New York and New Jersey, Of all the pastors in German Valley and the region round about, none have been more generally popular than Dr. Pohlman. His suc- cessor in the church here was
REV. JAMES R. KEISER,
who took charge of this field in the month of November, 1843. Mr. Keiser, I believe, was a graduate of the college and sem- inary at Gettysburg, an excellent man and good sermonizer. He served the congregation for a short time, for it was during his pastorate, in the year 1846, that by mutual consent the ecclesiastical
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UNION WAS DISSOLVED,
which heretofore existed between the two congregations of New Germantown and German Valley. The following are the resolutions then passed at a joint meeting of the officers of the New Germantown and German Valley congregations :
RESOLVED, That the ecclesiastical union heretofore existing between the said congregations be by mutual consent dissolved at the close of the present month, October, 1846, and that each congregation relying on the assistance and blessing of the great head of the church will endeavor to make suitable provisions for comfortable support of a pastor.
RESOLVED, That we recognize with gratitude to God, the harmony and fraternal feelings which have characterized these two congregations in all their conduct toward each other dur- ing the many years they have been associated together, and that we will continue to regard each other as one in Christ, to love as brethren, and take a lively interest in each other's tem- poral and eternal welfare.
In those days all the church officers were called " Trustees" and were sworn into office before the civil magistrate.
The records show that Mr. Keiser during his ministry here received 22 persons into the church by confirmation and two by certificate from other churches, and that he baptized 24 chil- dren. Near the close of the year 1849 he received and accepted a call to the church in Schoharie, N. Y., and labored in this important field for seven years, when he accepted a call to St. James Church, Gettysburg, from which he removed to Dixon, Illinois, in 1861. After three years labor there he engaged in an agency for the American Sunday School Union. His youngest son being brought home from Yale college, pros- trated by sickness to the verge of the grave, he resolved to make a home for his family in the milder climate of his native State, where he resided three years when the Master called him to his reward. He was born in Waynesboro, Augusta Co., Va., Sept. 28th, 1812 ; died near Petersburg, Va., October 12th, 1872, aged 60 years.
The following lines which were among the last pencilings
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in his common place book are inscribed upon his tombstone : " 'Tis sweet to labor in service blest,
Though labor with pain be blended ; But sweeter by far with our Lord to rest, The toil and the warfare ended."
We now come to the history of this church as an indepen- dent organization, and as most of you are familiar with this part of our history it will not be necessary to go into details.
As an independent self-supporting congregation this church is only thirty years old. The first resident pastor here was REV. EPHRAIM DEYOE,
who succeeded Mr. Keiser in November, 1846. Mr. Deyoe is known to you all unless it be the younger members of the congregation. He is a graduate of Union college and I believe studied theology both at Hartwick and Gettysburg.
His first charge was at Woodstock, Ulster Co., N. Y., and from there he came to German Valley. His labors here were greatly blessed. To have a pastor of your own, who lived in your midst and devoted all his time to this one charge, gave a new impulse to the congregation and infused new life into the church.
At this time, and indeed before this time, the name of our esteemed brother,
JOHN NAUGHRIGHT,
appears with a praiseworthy prominence among the office bearers and supporters of the church. On the arrival of the new pastor Mr. N. opened his heart and his doors too and took in the young dominie and his wife and for a very trifling con- sideration kept them during the whole winter and indeed until the parsonage which he was very largely instrumental in build- ing, was finished and ready for occupancy.
Many of you remember how in those days when the church was weak-when friends were few and foes formidable, this good brother stood by the church, sparing neither time nor money, nor influence in his efforts to promote the prosperity of Zion. In his attendance upon the preacher's word-in the cheerful and liberal support he gave the church and in his efforts to bring his friends and neighbors with him to the house
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of God, providing and running a hack for years for this pur- pose he has set an example worthy of all imitation and his name deserves special mention in common with this part of the history of this church. During the ministry of Brother Deyoe the church enjoyed several precious
REVIVALS
and large numbers were gathered together in the church. There were at one time, February 6th, 1848, thirty-five persons received into the church ; at another time forty-two ; at another thirty.
At the head of the list of confirmations we notice the name of E. M. Battles. Brother Deyoe labored here until in the spring of 1858, when he resigned and accepted a call to the churches at Saddle River and Ramapo, N. J., in the neighbor- hood of which he still continues to labor. The charge having been divided a few years ago, he now preaches at Ramseys station in a new church which he has organized at that place. From the records of the church we gathered the following sum- mary of Bro. Deyoe's labors while pastor here : Confirmations, 176 ; baptism of infants, 216 ; attended 97 marriages and 163 funerals.
REV. ALFRED HILLER, D. D.
Mr. Deyoe was succeeded by your present pastor, September roth, 1850, nearly 18 years ago. As we to-day review these 18 years which have so rapidly passed into eternity we have great reason for gratitude for the repeated and continued tokens of the divine favor.
During this term the church record shows 239 additions to. the church, 188 children baptized, 114 marriages and 206 funerals. Among the improvements made during the present pastorate, we would mention the rebuilding and enlarging the church in 1861. The total cost of these improvements was $4,485.66. Of this amount $415.24 were paid for bell and fix- tures and $349.16 for furniture, cushions, lamps, &c. Dr. Wil- let, Morris Naughright and Nathan Anthony, were the build- ing committee. In the year 1866 the parsonage was rebuilt and enlarged at an expense of about $2,400, and in the year
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1869 the organ was placed in the church at an expense of $1,200.
The record shows 921 children baptized and 519 persons received into the church by confirmation. The present resident membership is 230 communicants.
Such, at the close of the first 100 years of our nation's his- tory, is the history of this church.
As we contrast the church to-day with what it was 100 years ago we have reason to thank God and take courage.
What the next centennial will be depends very much upon us and our children.
Let us remember we are making history, and with such a history before you may you gather new inspiration to-day.
With a faith so pure and scriptural-with a government so in harmony with our free institutions and with such a history together with the memory ot what our own beloved church has done for us and for our fathers-truly she is worthy of our love and untiring devotion.
May the language of our hearts to-day be " For her my tears shall fall ; For her my prayers ascend ; To her my cares and toils be given, Till toils and cares shall end."
We add to the above a few items to bring the history down to the present time. In the
GERMAN VALLEY CHURCH
the Rev. Dr. Hiller resigned his pastorate of 23 years in 1881 to accept a call to the chair of Theology in the Hartwick Lutheran Seminary at Hartwick, N. Y.
He was followed in the year 1891 by Rev. Benjamin B. Col- lins, a returned missionary from Africa, who served the con- gregation until the year 1890, when the REV. WILLIAM S. DELP, his brother-in-law, was unanimously called 27 November, 1890, and began his work the 12th of January, 1891, and is still labor- ing in this field. In the
NEW GERMANTOWN CHURCH
the Rev. Mr. Keiser's successor in 1850 was the REV. GEORGE S. COLLINS, who was followed in 1853 by the REV. JACOB DUY.
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In 1872 the REV. JOHN F. DIENER accepted a unanimous call and remained until 1879, when he was succeeded by the REV. JOHN P. KRECHTING, who is still serving most acceptably the congregation.
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF GERMAN VALLEY.
CHAPTER XII.
THE GERMAN REFORMED.
MICHAEL SCHLATTER-WIRTZ-STAPEL-DALLIKER-WACK- AND GERMAN VALLEY CHURCH.
H
AVING FOLLOWED the history of the Lutheran division of the Early Germans we now turn to the German Reformed branch. What Muhlenberg was to the Lutheran churches, his friend and fel- low-countryman, Schlatter, was to the German Reformed people. Born at St. Gall, in Switzerland, in 1716, July 14th, he spent some time in Holland, after completing his studies as a teacher, and then, returning to Switzerland, became the Sabbath evening preacher in a church near his birthplace. He soon, however, offered his services to the Synod of North and South Holland as a mis- sionary to the destitute churches of Pennsylvania, which were at that time calling so loudly for help. He arrived at Boston August Ist, 1746, whence he proceeded to Philadelphia. He married, October 11th, 1747, Maria Schleidorn, of New York. We have only space to notice briefly his very extensive labors in organizing and developing the very small beginnings of the German Reformed denomination. His labors were of the same general character as those of Muhlenberg. Like the latter he
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cheerfully placed his life in danger to visit the weak and struggling churches scattered so far from one another in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and even Virginia. No searcher for wealth, no enthusiast in scientific exploration endured more hardships or encountered more dangers than did these two devoted missionaries in their unwearied "work of service and labor of love." Schlatter's zeal was not without knowledge, and his tact and good sense carried him safely through trials and persecutions which would have overwhelmed a man of less balance of mind and correctness of deportment. It is said of him that "he was fond of order and had the power and tact of organization in an eminent degree. He was prompt and punc- tual in his appointments, careful and exact in all his business." Like Muhlenberg he was a man of fervent piety and insisted upon a personal experience of the power of the truth. Though carrying on his heart the burden of all the churches he could be in the social circle "free, familiar and full of vivacity and cheerfulness." Moreover, while devoted in heart and soul to his own inherited type of evangelical belief, he was entirely free from sectarianism and bigotry and no unseemly rivalry arose between him and his Lutheran compeer. In 1757 he accepted a chaplaincy in the British army and was present at the capture of Quebec. Two years later he gave up this posi- tion and settled at Chestnut Hill near Philadelphia. At the same time he served congregations at Barren Hill, Franklin- ville and other neighboring localities. He died in the month of October (?) 1790, in his seventy-fifth year.
THE CHURCH OF GERMAN VALLEY.
The following church history is an enlargement in some parts and a curtailment in others of a discourse by REV. ISAAC ALSTYNE BLAUVELT, delivered 28th April, 1870. Free use has also been made of Harbaugh's "Fathers of the German Re- formed Church."
On the twenty-third of May, 1746, the deputies of the Synods of South and North Holland commissioned a certain Michael Schlatter, to come to this country to visit the various German settlements, organize churches, preach the gospel, administer the sacraments, prepare the way for the settlement of ministers,
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who might be sent from the old country, and take the general oversight of the churches. He had received a considerable portion of his education at Helmstadt, in the Duchy Brunswick, in northwestern Germany. He was fully inducted into the office of the ministry in Holland-probably in the year 1745. In accordance with the commission received from the Synods of South and North Holland, he sailed for America on the Ist of June, 1746. He reached Boston on the Ist of August. From there he went to New York, and thence to Philadelphia. Bos- ton was at that time the largest town in America. He says it contained about three thousand houses. New York, or New Amsterdam, had about two thousand houses. Philadelphia had seven streets running north and south, and seven running east and west. It had about ten thousand inhabitants, and was the second city in America.
Schlatter made his home in Philadelphia, and became the pastor of the German Reformed Church in that city, in connec- tion with the one at Germantown. But he was at home only a small portion of his time, being mainly occupied in visiting and superintending the various churches throughout the country. He kept a journal of his travels, which is still preserved. In this journal are some matters of interest to us. Thus he writes in one place : "When I had safely arrived at home on the third of July, 1747, I found a very earnest and moving letter, written by several congregations in the province of New Jer- sey, namely, at Rockaway, Fox Hill and Amwell, in the region of the Raritan, distant about seventy miles from Philadelphia. They urge me, with the strongest motives, yea, they pray me, for God's sake, to pay them a visit, that I may administer to them the Lord's supper, and by baptism incorporate their children with the church, who have already, during three or more years, remained without baptism." The church of Am- well was at Ringoes, in Hunterdon county. Rockaway is now known as the Reformed Church of Lebanon, and the Fox Hill church is described as "located at the foot of a hill of that name, in German Valley, about thirty miles north of Amwell." [H. Harbaugh]. It was more probably the church on the aunt Katie Sutton farm between German Valley and Fairmount.
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It would appear from the letter which Schlatter received, that there had been no minister here for three years or more, and while the general state of morals and religion was, no doubt, pretty low, still the letter proves that there were some earnest christians. I quote again from Schlatter's journal : "On the thirteenth of November, 1747, I undertook the jour- ney to the three congregations in New Jersey, from which I had, on the third of July, received a most friendly and pressing invitation to meet them. On the fourteenth, after a journey of sixty miles, I came to Rockaway. Here I received twenty young persons into the church as members, after they had made a profession of their faith ; preached a preparatory ser- mon on the fifteenth, and on the following day administered the Holy Supper in a small church to an attentive and rever- ent assembly. In the afternoon I went to Fox Hill, where I preached a preparatory sermon, and on the following day, which was the eighteenth, administered the Holy Supper to forty members. After I had performed this solemn service, to the great edification of the congregation, and had yet, in each place, preached a thanksgiving sermon after the communion, I returned again to Philadelphia on the twentieth, joyful in heart and giving thanks to God for the support which He had ren- dered me. I cannot refrain from referring briefly to the fact that those three congregations, from gratitude for the service I had rendered them, handed me a pecuniary reward ; and this was the first money which, since my arrival in America up to this time, I have received from any congregation for my labor and pains." Thus early did this congregation show a disposi- tion to be liberal and generous toward its minister-a disposi- tion which it has always cultivated. In after years, the people of this valley acquired quite a reputation for kindness to their pastor-a reputation which they have never lost, and which they still continue to deserve. Schlatter again visited this church in the early part of June, 1748, preached and adminis- tered the sacraments. There was a third visit on the eleventh and twelfth of October, of the same year ; and a fourth visit, from the twenty-second to the twenty-seventh of May, 1749, and a fifth in June, 1750.
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