USA > New Jersey > Essex County > Newark > The fiftieth anniversary of the Second Presbyterian Church, Newark, N.J. : a discourse preached September 29, 1861 > Part 2
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The work of erection progressed with great rapidity. It would be interesting, had we time, to take up that original subscription list, note the names of those concerned, and mark the earnest- ness, and liberality, and perseverance with which the work was carried forward. We should find some contributing money, or their pews in the First Church, which were equivalent to money, others giving materials, and others contributing their mechanical skill and the labor of their hands.
While the building was progressing, the persons interested proceeded, on the 12th of January, 1811, to the election of seven Trustees; who on the 17th of the same month filed and recorded the certificate of their incorporation in the County Clerk's Office, under the corporate name of "The Trustees of the Second Presbyterian Church in Newark;" and on the 22d of April following, these seven trustees took, and subscribed, "the
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oath of allegiance to this State, and to support the Constitution of the United States, and for the faithful execution of their respective trusts." The names of these first trustees were James Hedden, Joseph T. Baldwin, David Doremus, John N. Cumming, Marcus B. Douglass, James Conley, Theodore Frelinghuysen. Of these Mr. Douglass and Mr. Frelinghuysen are living, though not now in connection with this church.
Although not yet organized as a church, and still worshipping as part of the First Congregation, the people felt that it was time to secure a pastor for the new enterprise. Accordingly a meeting was held on the 23d of January, 1811, at which the Rev. Mr. Richards presided, and it was unani- mously resolved to make out a call to Mr. Hooper Cumming, then a licentiate of the Presbytery of Jersey, to take upon him the pastoral office among them. On the 24th of April, the congregation was taken under the care of the Presbytery of Jersey; and at the same time their call for Mr. Cumming was laid before the Presbytery, and being found in order, was put into his hands, and was accepted by him.
Meanwhile this house of worship proceeded to its completion ; and on the 30th day of September, 1811, it was solemnly dedicated to the service of Almighty God. The prayer of dedication on that
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occasion was offered by the Rev. Asa. Hillyer* of Orange, and the sermon was preached by the Rev. Samuel Whelpley+ from Psalm lxxxiv : 1: "How
* The Rev. Asa Hillyer, D. D., was for more than thirty years the honored and beloved Pastor of the church in Orange, now the First Church, and was widely known and influential in the church at large. He was born in Sheffield, Mass., April 6, 1763; graduated at Yale College in 1786; was installed Pastor of the church at Bottle Hill, now Madison, N. J., Sept. 29, 1789. While Pastor there he made an extensive missionary tour, in Northern Pennsylvania and Western New York, by appointment of the General Assembly. On this tour "he preached the first sermon ever preached in what is now the City of Auburn." December 16, 1801, he was installed at Orange ; he was a Trustee of the College of New Jersey, and a Director of Princeton Theological Seminary ; received the de- gree of D. D. from Alleghany College in 1818; resigned his pastoral charge in 1833; and resided at Orange, preaching as occasion occurred, and laboring to promote the cause of religion, until his death on the 28th of August, 1840 .- Dr. Sprague's Annals.
1 Mr. Whelpley was also a native of Massachusetts, born in 1766. The son of Baptist parents, he became a Baptist minis- ter in 1792; but subsequently changing his views, on the 8th of October, 1806, he was received into the Presbytery of New York. Although he frequently preached, he was not settled as a Pastor in any of our churches. He taught for a time the Academy at Morristown, and removed from that place to Newark in 1809, and here for several years continued to teach, though interrupted by feeble health. "His school was in high repute, and there were few more competent or thorough teachers in his day." In 1814 he removed to New York, and died July 14, 1817. He "was highly respected as a teacher, a minister
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amiable are thy tabernacles, O Lord of Hosts !" We can readily understand that it was a " high day" for the congregation when they saw their work thus completed, and with mingling sighs and songs of rejoicing, and high hopes and consciousness of developed strength and responsi- bilities, they left the home of their youth, to take possession of this. Some who hear me to-day will recall the emotions with which they then entered this new sanctuary of the Lord of Hosts : , how the children looked with delight on the new edifice, and the hearts of parents glowed with gratitude and glad anticipation, as they gathered their families into the pews that were henceforth to be their religious homes, and the voice of prayer and praise floated upward, and the Ark of the Lord took possession of the prepared resting place. It was a day of great importance to the interests of the church in this city, marking a step in a career of progress. The building stands to-day as it stood then-the walls the same, the dimen- sions the same, the same in general style, though improved by successive alterations. The stones which the people gathered and set up as a memorial'
of the Gospel, and a Christian gentleman ;" " a man of marked genius ;" " a most diligent student;" "a preacher of very decided talent." He was the author of several publications .- Dr. Sprague's Annals.
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to coming generations of the Divine goodness, (Josh. iv.) and of their purpose to provide for the children who should succeed them, are all here to bear witness to us of their piety, and sacred purpose, and diligence, and zeal.
The church was built of stone, covered with stucco. Its dimensions are : length 82 feet, with a tower projecting five feet; width, 61 feet six inches ; height, to the eaves 33 feet, to the top of the cupola, about 90 feet. It will accommodate between 800 and 900 persons; 1,000 may be seated in it. Originally the stucco was of a bluish tinge, from which it received the familiar appella- tion, "the blue church ;" a name which is still occasionally heard as one of the lingering memorials of those early days. It is said too that when Dr. Griffin was preaching some of his powerful utter- ances of the law against sin, and his tremendous descriptions of the doom of the sinner, some irreverent ones would speak of it as the " brimstone church," saying that "if set on fire it would surely burn blue." The recent alterations have greatly improved its appearance. I have not been able to ascertain exactly its original cost; but it was about $16,000, including, I presume, the cost of the land. The land was purchased of Moses Ogden, by John N. Cumming and Joseph T. Baldwin, June 5, 1810; and deeded by them to
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the trustees, February 24, 1811, for $2,000: the lot extending from Washington street to Plane street. It was at first proposed to use the ground immediately in the rear of the church for burial purposes, but this was relinquished, and the burying ground on Plane street was purchased in 1816 for $435. A considerable debt was incurred by the congregation, but how much I find no where definitely stated. In 1817 it amounted to $6,000.
A few days subsequent to the dedication of the building, on the 3rd of October, Mr. Cumming was ordained and installed Pastor of this church and congregation. The sermon on the occasion was preached by the Rev. Stephen Thompson of Connecticut Farms,* from 1 Corinth. i: 21: "For after that, in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God, by the foolishness of preaching, to save them that be- lieve." Dr. Hillyer took part in the services ; Dr. Richards presided, and gave the charge to the new pastor; and the Rev. Amzi Armstrong, of
* Mr. Thompson was born at Mendham, N. J. He graduated at Princeton in 1797, and was ordained and installed at Con- necticut Farms, his first and only pastoral charge, November 16, 1802. There he continued for about thirty years. After his dismissal he preached for a time in Sussex County, in this State; and then removed to Illinois ; where he died a few years since at an advanced age.
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Mendham,* " gave an exhortation to the people." The Sentinel of Oct. 8, 1811, says of these servi- ces : " A very numerous audience were assembled ; the exercises were unusually interesting and impressive; and the people in general, as well as the Presbytery, were much affected with the solemnity of the occasion."
We have no record of the formal organization of the church. On Oct. 9, 1811, NINETY-THREE persons were dismissed from the First Church, with a view to their being formed into a church to worship in the new edifice under the pastoral care of the Rev. Mr. Cumming; and their names are recorded in our list of communicants under date of Oct. 22d.
* Mr. Armstrong was a native of Orange County, N. Y. He pursued theological studies with the Rev. William Chapman of Orange, N. J., and was ordained and installed pastor of the church in Mendham, Nov. 29, 1796. After twenty years of highly useful and acceptable labors there, he removed to Bloom- field, and took charge of the Academy in that place; which he conducted for several years with great ability. He died at Perth Amboy, March 4, 1827. He was an excellent preacher; a sound instructor; and a much respected and influential member of church judicatories. Though not a graduate of any College, he received from Princeton the degree of A. M. in 1804, and that of D. D. in 1821. He was the father of the late W. J. Armstrong, D. D., Secretary of the A. B. C. F. M., and of the Rev. G. F. Armstrong, D. D., of Norfolk, Va. Another son, a lawyer, occupied positions of prominence in this State .- Dr. Sprague's Annals.
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On the 6th of November, 1811, the members of the church met for the purpose of electing elders. It is indicative of the pleasant state of feeling subsisting between the two congregations, and of the importance attached to the occasion, that a sermon was then preached by the Rev. Dr. Rich- ards, the pastor of the First Church. His text was Heb. xiii : 1: " Let brotherly love continue."
The introduction to his discourse, as it is given us in Dr. Gridley's biographical sketch of him prefixed to his public lectures, (p. 29,) alludes to the peculiar circumstances under which they were assembled, "after having peaceably withdrawn from their former connection," and " from being a part only of a particular church, become a distinct church themselves," and concludes with these words: "Many important subjects of reflection will naturally present themselves to your minds on this occasion, but I can think of none which more deservedly merits your attention, than these words : 'Let brotherly love continue.' Hitherto you have been united in counsel, and united in affection. Let the same spirit continue in you and abound, and you have the promise that the God of love and peace shall be with you."
Nathaniel Douglass, Joseph L. Keen, and Aaron Ward, were elected Ruling Elders ; the first two being also set apart to fulfil the office of Deacon.
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All of them have now passed away from the scenes of earth.
Thus was the Second Church fully organized and equipped, and started on its career of useful- ness. And it is a matter for devout thanksgiving, my brethren, that you find your beginning characterized by such a spirit of harmony, and so much of Christian love and self sacrifice. The church was begun with a desire to extend the blessings of the Gospel, and provide for the future wants of the community, and its foundations were laid in peace and love.
As already stated, the first pastor of this church was the REV. HOOPER CUMMING. He was a native of this city, his father being a well known and influential member of this community, residing at the time in this part of the town, and taking an
A active part in the building of the church .* graduate of Princeton College in 1805, he studied theology at the Theological Seminary in Andover, Mass., while Dr. Griffin, who had been his pastor, was connected with that institution. He was licensed to preach the gospel by the Presbytery of Jersey, Oct. 4, 1810, and on the 3d of October,
* Gen. Cumming had been a Trustee in the first congregation, and was one of the first Trustees, and among the most liberal supporters, of the new enterprise.
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1811, was ordained and installed by the same Presbytery in this, his first pastoral charge. He was in the bloom of early manhood, tall and of fine personal appearance, with attractive manners, pleasing address, and remarkable and commanding eloquence : and consequently he was highly pop- ular and much beloved. The close of his ministry, which was brief, but attended with marked results in the increase of the membership of the church and of the congregation, was clouded by circumstances of a painful nature: but his people clung to him affectionately, and asked the withdrawal of his resignation, which he voluntarily presented. He persisted, however, in asking for a dissolution of his pastoral rela- tion. On the 4th of December, 1814, he preached his farewell sermon, and on January 3, 1815, the Presbytery dissolved the relation between him and this congregation.
To the original ninety-three members there were added during Mr. Cumming's ministry eighty-one by profession and one hundred and fifty-six by certificate. In the Winter of 1812-13, there was a most interesting religious awakening, which commenced simultaneously in this and the First Church, and in the church at Elizabethtown. This congregation was greatly refreshed, and sixty- three persons here professed faith in Christ. After
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leaving Newark, Mr. Cumming "preached some years in Schenectady, Albany, and New York. He died in Charleston, South Carolina, December 24, 1825, in the thirty-eighth year of his age; and is buried in the churchyard of the First Presby- terian Church in that city."*
The successor of Mr. Cumming was the REV. EDWARD DORR GRIFFIN, D. D. Dr. Griffin had already fulfilled the duties of a minister and pastor in this city, and many who now called him had been previously taught under his ministry. A native of Connecticut, and having commenced his ministerial life at New Hartford in that State, he was installed as colleague of the Rev. Dr. Mc Whorter in the pastoral charge of the First Church in this city, October 20, 1801, and at the death of Dr. McWhorter in 1807 became sole pastor of that church. In 1809, he left that position to become Professor of Pulpit Eloquence in Andover Theological Seminary ; and in July, 1811, he was installed pastor of the Park street Church, Boston. He was in that charge when the call from this congregation was presented to him. He accepted it, and was installed June 20, 1815.1
* Dr. Condit's Sermon, p. 15.
t The sermon on this occasion was preached by the Rev. Henry Cook, of Metuchen; the charge to the minister was delivered by the Rev. Cyrus Gildersleeve, of Bloomfield, and that to the people by Rev. Gershom Williams, of Springfield.
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The name of Dr. Griffin is one of the posses- sions of the church at large. He fills a prominent place in her history. He occupied several eminent positions. He participated in all the important movements of the day, by his eloquence and his pen contributing to the furtherance of the Foreign Missionary cause, and to the founding and success of the American Bible Society. Especially is his name associated with the rich revivals which God granted to His Church in the early part of this century .* His life and labors, and character, have been so thoroughly presented to this church by your former pastor, Dr. Condit, in his Histori- cal Discourse, and to the church at large by several
* Dr. Griffin's ministry seems to have been remarkably favored in this respect. "Almost immediately after he com- menced his labors (at New Hartford) there was an increased attention to religion among his people, and a revival of consid- erable power succeeded, which resulted in the addition of about fifty persons to the church." (Dr. Sprague's Memoir ) At Orange " his preaching was attended by manifest tokens of the Divine favor, and about fifty were added to the church as the fruit of his labors." (Ibid.) In 1807 there was "a very pow- erful effusion of Divine influences; " during the month of March, 1808, "ninety-seven persons joined the church in Newark." " The whole number added to this (the First) church in consequence of that revival is supposed to be between one hundred and fifty and two hundred persons." Dr. Stearns's History, pp. 271-273. Of these persons quite a number were among those who were organized into the Second Church in 1811.
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excellent biographies, that I need not now dwell upon them at length, or attempt to present you a full portraiture of him. Some who hear me will remember his large commanding person, and his voice of wonderful compass and richness, speaking the truth with lofty majesty, touching the heart with the tenderest pathos. They will remember his terrible utterances of the Law denouncing the wrath of God upon the sinner, his pleading exhibition of Divine love, and his rapturous flights of imagination. To this power he gave full play, and depicted vividly before his hearers scenes of grandeur, of terror, and of glorious happiness, to the presentation of which his impassioned decla- mation and the varying tones of his powerful voice were well adapted. Remarkable traditions come to us of his power in the pulpit. He is regarded as one of the most eloquent of pulpit orators, and has been called "the prince of Amer- ican preachers." Though largely an emotional preacher, his sermons show soundness of argument, and a power derived from the great truths that pervade them. It is said, too, that he had peculiar facility in his religious intercourse as a pastor, and was accustomed to address himself with great force and impressiveness to individuals, not over- looking any member of the household to which he was making a pastoral visit. His earnest efforts
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in behalf of the young are remembered with great interest; especially his monthly catechetical in- structions, and the meetings which he was accus- tomed to hold with the baptized children and their parents, previous to each communion season ; in. which he sought to impress on them respectively their obligations, and examined the children as to their knowledge of gospel truth. With regard to the last, I find the following record in his own writing on our Session Book, of date November 27, 1815 : " Resolved, to adopt it as a Standing Rule to meet the baptized children on Thursday afternoon before each sacrament, for the purpose of ascertaining their progress in religious know- ledge, impressing them with their peculiar obliga- tions, and praying with, and for them; and to invite all the members of the church to be present."
His ministry extended over a period of six years. During that time one hundred and seventy- seven were added to the church; one hundred and twenty-four on profession. A most gracious season of revival occurred in 1817. It began in December, 1816, commencing in the First Church, but extending soon to this and to the neighboring churches. In this revival Dr. Griffin was abundant and most useful in labors, in the pulpit, in visitations from house to house, in social religious
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meetings in different parts of the congregation, and in the inquiry meeting. At the June communion in that year sixty-six persons made a public dedication of themselves to Almighty God, and subsequently several others were added as the result of the awakening.
During Dr. Griffin's ministry the Sabbath School was commenced, and the interests of the church and congregation were materially advanced. Having been invited to the Presidency of Williams College, Mass., he was, at his own request, dis- missed by the Presbytery on the 16th of October, 1821 .*
* Dr. Griffin was born at East Haddam, Conn., January 6, 1770. He graduated at Yale College, with the highest honors of his class, in 1790; studied theology with Dr. Edwards, after- wards President of Union College; was licensed to preach by the West Association of New Haven County in Oct., 1792; was ordained and installed pastor of the Congregational Church at New Hartford, June 4, 1795; spent the Winter of 1800 at Orange, N. J., supplying the pulpit of the church there; was installed collegiate pastor of the First Church, Newark, October 20, 1801 ; received the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity from Union College in 1808; became Professor of Pulpit Elo- quence in Andover Theological Seminary in 1809 ; was installed pastor of the Park street Church, Boston, in 1811, and of this church in 1815 ; became President of Williams College in 1821; resigned that office in 1836, and returned to Newark, in enfeebled health, to spend the remainder of his days, in the family of his son-in law, L. A. Smith, M. D., and there died November 8, 1837.
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On the 28th of August, 1822, the congregation extended a call to the REV. PHILIP COURTLAND HAY, then pastor of the church at Mendham, N. J. The call was accepted, and Mr. Hay was installed by the Presbytery of Jersey, on the 17th of December following. At the installation ser- vices Dr. Richards presided, and gave the charge to the minister, the sermon was preached by the Rev. Gideon N. Judd, pastor of the church at Bloomfield, from 2 Cor. iv: 7, and the charge to the people was delivered by the Rev. John G. Bergen, pastor of the church at Madison .*
The ministry of Dr. Hay continued a little more than ten years, and was a period marked by gracious visitations from on high, and by much enterprise and activity in church interests. A revival, which is spoken of as attended "with more than common signs of genuineness and
* The venerable and beloved Dr. Judd, preceded Dr. Hay to the grave only a few months. After leaving Bloomfield in 1834, he was for a time engaged as an Associate Secretary of the American Home Missionary Society, and then settled as pastor of the church at Montgomery, N. Y., where he died March 3, 1860, leaving many seals of his usefulness, and a memory very dear to the Church. Mr. Bergen was dismissed from the Madison Church in 1828, and was recently living in the vicinity of Springfield, Illinois.
t He received the degree of D. D. from Geneva (now " Ho- bart") College in 1839.
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power," occurred in 1824 and 1825, as the fruit of which about eighty persons were added to the church : and another season of interest in 1831-32 resulted in the accession of about thirty .* During his ministry among you there were added to the church three hundred and twenty-two persons : one hundred and sixty-four by profession, and one hundred and fifty-eight by certificate. In the Summer of 1824 your lecture room was erected, affording increased facilities for conducting the operations of the church, and greatly contributing to your spiritual prosperity. And in 1832 the Association for Systematic Benevolence was formed, which still continues in existence and activity, exerting a beneficial influence in pro- moting the systematic contributions of the congre- gation. A revised edition of its Principles and Rules has recently been published, and the Asso- ciation has entered with fresh vigor into its work.
Dr. Hay resigned his charge here on account of ill health, and was dismissed July 11, 1833. Engaging for a time in teaching, he was subse- quently settled as a pastor at Geneva, and at Owego, N. Y.,, but his failing health obliged him to relinquish the pastoral office. For several years
* Dr. Condit's Historical Discourse.
ยก While at Owego, he was elected Moderator of the General Assembly, in 1849.
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past he resided at Orange in this State, conducting a school for classical instruction, preaching occa- sionally as opportunity offered; and for the last year of his life he supplied the pulpit of a newly organized church in that vicinity. On the 27th of last December, while ascending the steps leading from his garden to his house, the stroke of Death fell suddenly upon him, and, almost in a moment, he passed away from earth to enter, as we trust, the blest abode of the departed saints who are with Jesus. The summons came to him suddenly ; but he had been long aware that thus it would probably come, and there were evidences that he was ripening for it. Only two weeks previous to that day he preached in this pulpit with unusual vigor and buoyancy. The funeral services, at the request of the people to whom he had been ministering, and under their charge, were held in the First Church, Orange, attended by a large concourse of people. The funeral discourse was preached by the Rev. Samuel H. Cox, D. D., his life-long intimate and loving friend.
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