USA > New York > The earliest churches of New York and its vicinity > Part 24
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Not very full of years, but full of usefulness and hon- ors, Mr. Dickinson ended his days, aged sixty. What 21
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an industrious life the good man must have passed ! In addition to his numerous duties of pastor, teacher, and farmer, he was a respectable practising physician. It is stated that the Rev. Mr. Vaughan, Rector of the Church of England, came to Elizabethtown on the same day with Mr. Dickinson. Here they labored together forty years, and both were laid in their silent coffins on the same day, the former completing his holy mission on the earth only a few hours before the latter. Both en- tered the heavenly land together !
Mr. Dickinson left three daughters, one marrying Mr. Sargeant, of Princeton, from whom descended the Hon- orable John Sargeant, of Philadelphia. Another be- came the wife of the Rev. Caleb Smith, a minister in the Newark mountains, now Orange, of whom the Greens, eminent in the New Jersey Bar, are descendants. The remains of Mr. Dickinson were buried in the grave- yard of the town where he so long faithfully preached Christ, and hallowed be that spot of their silent repose !
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CHAPTER XXXIV.
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, ELIZABETHTOWN -- ELISHA SPENCER, D. D., SUCCEEDS MR. DICKINSON-CHURCH INCORPORATED-GOVERNOR BELCHER JOINS THIS CONGREGATION -- REV. MR. KETTLETAS OFFI- CIATED IN THREE LANGUAGES-REV. JAMES CALDWELL, A HUGUENOT -- IHIS FAMILY-BECOMES A CHAPLAIN-OBNOXIOUS TO THE "TO- RIES"-HIS PARSONAGE AND CHURCH BURNED (1781)-1HIS WIFE MURDERED, AND HIS TRAGICAL DEATH-EMINENT MEN IN IIIS CON- GREGATION-OGDEN, BOUDINOT, LIVINGSTON, AND DAYTON-SKETCH OF MR. BOUDINOT -- NEW CHURCH BUILT IN 1786, BUT UNFINISHED FOR SEVERAL YEARS-NOTICE OF MR. LIVINGSTON, A FRIEND OF GENERAL HAMILTON-BEV. . W. LINN INSTALLED (1786).
THE Rev. Elisha Spencer, D. D., succeeded Mr. Dick- inson in the pastoral charge. He was born at East Had- dam, Connecticut, and graduated from Yale College in 1746. The next year he took charge of this congrega- tion, diligently performing its duties until 1756, and then removing to Trenton. He died in the sixty-fourth year of his age, 1784. HEis gravestone says that, " pos- sessed of fine genius, of great vivacity, of eminent and active piety, his merits as a minister and man stand above the reach of flattery. Having long editied the church by his talents and example, and finished his course with joy, he fell asleep, full of faith and waiting for the hope of all saints."
During the ministry of Dr. Spencer, the First Church of Elizabethtown obtained its Act of Incorporation. In
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1747, Jonathan Belcher became governor of this prov- ince, resided here, and united with this congregation. HIe granted its charter August 22, 1753, and the trustees were Stephen Crane, Cornelius Hatfield, Jonathan Day- ton, Isaac Woodruff, Matthias Baldwin, Moses Ogden, and Benjamin Winans. They were authorized to build an almshouse for the poor, and schoolhouses to educate the young of the town.
" The righteous shall be held in everlasting remem- brance," and the memory of Governor Belcher should not be passed by without a notice. He was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1681, graduating from Harvard College, 1699 -- a merchant, he acquired reputa- tion and fortune at Boston, and in 1722 went to England as agent of Massachusetts Bay. On the death of Gover- nor Burnet, the son of the eminent bishop, he was ap- pointed Governor of Massachusetts and Now Hamp- shire ; and when Governor Hamilton died, he received the same post and honor in New Jersey (1747). With great moderation and justice, he governed this province for ten years. To a commanding person, he united a finely cultivated mind, dignity of manners, firm integ- rity, and forvent piety. He became a devoted friend of Whitefield. He died of paralysis in 1757, aged seventy- six, and his remains, buried some time at Elizabethtown, were then removed to his native place. Cambridge. Dr. Spencer was succeeded by the Rev. Abraham Kettletas, and installed September 14, 1757, remaining only three or four years. He was a native of New York city, and a graduate at Yale College. After his removal from Elizabeth he preached in the Reformed Dutch church,
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Jamaica, Long Island. Like most Presbyterian clergy- men at that period. he became a very decided Whig, and was a political writer of notoriety. Some of his manuscript sermons, written in Dutch and French, have been preserved. He finished his course at Jamaica, September 30, 1798, aged sixty-five, where his ashes are buried. His epitaph says : " It may not, perhaps, be. unworthy of record. in this inscription, that he fre- quently officiated in three different languages, having preached in the Dutch and French churches in his na- tive city of New York.
" Rest from thy labors now thy work is o'er ; Since death is vanquished, now free grace adore ; A crown of glory sure awaits the just, Who serve their God, and in their Saviour trust."
The Rev. James Caldwell next occupied the Presby- terian pulpit in Elizabethtown. He has a patriotic and religious history, his tragical death almost clothing it with romantic interest. By family this distinguished man was of Huguenot origin. Driven from France by merciless persecution, they escaped to Scotland, and during the reign of James I. some of their number went to Ireland, settling in the county of Antrim. From this branch John Caldwell descended, who emigrated to America. at first locating in Lancaster County, Pennsyl- vania, but soon removed to Charlotte. Virginia. Here James Caldwell was born. April, 1231. the youngest of seven children. He graduated from Princeton College in 1759, and about a year afterwards was licensed to preach the Gospel, and soon took charge of this then large congregation at Elizabethtown.
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Soon the Revolutionary struggle began and he entered heartily into the controversy, becoming a chaplain, and accompanied the Jersey brigade to the northern lines. He ranked high in Washington's confidence and friend- ship, and his popularity and influence with the soldiers were unbounded.
These patriotic traits rendered him very obnoxious to the common foe, and, for more safety from the " Tories," he removed his residence to Connecticut Farms. Such was their known hatred towards him, that he was com- pelled, for personal safety, to lay his loaded pistol by his side in the pulpit. The vacant parsonage became the resting-place of the American soldiers; but the enemy burnt it, as they also did his church, on the night of November 24, 1781.
Not satisfied with these outrages, the wife of Mr. Caldwell, an accomplished lady, was deliberately mur- dered-shot by a British ruffian, on the 7th of June, 1780, while, with her children, she was praying in the retirement of her closet for victory on her country's banners. Her pious husband, the excellent and pa- triotic pastor, in a few months followed her to the heay- enly promised land. On the 24th of November, 1781. he was also shot dead by another murderer, a sentinel of our own forces, but bribed to the foul deed by Brit- ish gold. What a tale of woo !
Thus, in a few months. the Presbyterians of Elizabeth- town were deprived of their church, parsonage, and academy ; and their excellent pastor and his wife mur- dered in cold blood ! During seven long years, this congregation continued without a sanctuary for God's
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solemn worship : but prayer and patriotism strikingly united their hearts, amidst all these accumulated sorrows. As a church, they contributed largely to the cause of liberty, giving a Dayton to the army, both father and son, with an Ogden and Spencer ; and as chaplain and commissary, the beloved Caldwell. Then we find in the State and National Councils a Boudinot, Clark, Living- ston, Dayton, and Ogden. Where did any congregation, in that day of peril and darkness, excel such patriotic contributions ? Many of them were suffering in the army ; many incarcerated in the horrid sugar-house, New York : whilst widows and orphans were to be found in every direction. A darker day that community never beheld; still but few, if any, Sabbaths passed without some religious services.
Dr. Elias Boudinot was connected with this church, and ever the attached and devoted friend of Mr. Cald- well. Both settled in Elizabeth about the same period. His memory will long remain precious to the friends of science and religion, on account of his munificent bene- factions whilst living and the princely legacies of his last will. Also a descendant of the pious Huguenots, he was born in Philadelphia, May 2, 1740. He studied law with Richard Stockton, a member of the first Con- gress, whose eldest sister he married. His piety, patriot- ism, and talents soon placed him in the highest rank of his profession. Congress appointed him to the important trust of Commissary-General of prisoners, and in the year 1777. he was elected a member of that body, and made its president, 1282. When the celebrated Ritten- house died, Washington appointed Mr. Boudinot Direc-
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tor of the National Mint. Resigning this office, he re- tired to Burlington; and here, surrounded by kind friends, he passed the balance of his days in the exercise of the highest Christian duties.
He was elected the first President of the American Bible Society, and by a large donation placed this great national institution upon a firm foundation. His most liberal bequests went to the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church and its Theological Seminary at Princeton. He wrote a work on the origin of the American Indians, called " A Star in the West," and an able reply to Tom Paine's " Age of Reason ;" and both bear ample testimony of his ability. learning, and piety. An eminent patriot, philanthropist, and Christian, he died in Burlington, October 24, 1821, at the very ad- vanced age of eighty-two years.
After the close of the Revolutionary War, and the citizens had returned to their homes, it was resolved to rebuild the house of the Lord. Dr. Alexander Me Whor- ter dedicated the new edifice about 1786. For several years, however, it remained unfinished, the minister using a rough platform for his pulpit. and the hearers, planks as seats. To finish the sacred edifice, the State granted the "Elizabeth Town and New Brunswick Church Lottery." from which some fifteen hundred dol- lars were realized. In this respect, we have certainly improved on the wisdom of our excellent forefathers.
William Livingston, LL. D., was another eminent Christian gentleman of Elizabethtown at this period. Of Scotch descent, he was born at Albany, New York. in 1723, and graduated from Yale College 1711. In
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=
1748, admitted as an attorney to the bar, he reached great professional distinction. soon becoming the leading writer for popular rights, and opposed the advocates of the then termed "American Episcopato." Realizing a' fortune from his profession. he retired to Elizabeth, in the year 1772, where he erected the " Mansion House." still bearing his name, and where he died. Upon his removal to New Jersey, he was chosen a member of the first Congress, 1774, re-elected the next year, and in 1776 took command of the New Jersey militia, as brigadier- general, fixing his camp at Elizabethtown Point, with Elias Boudinot as his aide-de-camp. When the inhabit- ants of this province deposed Governor Franklin, and formed a new constitution, they elected Mr. Livingston their first governor, and continued to confer upon him this honor for fourteen consecutive years, until his death, July 25, 1790. He was also a delegate to the Convention which formed the Constitution of the United States. Ilis remains, interred with those of his wife, were after- wards removed to the vault of their son, Brockholst. the judge, in New York. Governor Livingston was a profound lawyer, an able writer, a pure patriot, and, above all, an humble follower of Christ-the most popular chief magistrate that ever occupied the chair of state in New Jersey. We must not forget to mention that he was the friend and patron of the illustrious Alexander Hamilton, who came from the West Indies with a letter to him from the Rev. Hugh Knox. Mr. Livingston sent him to school, under the charge of Francis Barber, then a distinguished teacher of the town. But he and his papil soon entered the ranks of the
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American army, the former reaching a colonel's rank, and the scholar a patriotic and world-renowned fame. Colonel Barber, with his regiment, served under General Schuyler, at the North, and shared in the battles of Ticonderoga, Trenton, Princeton, Brandywine, German- town, and Monmouth, nearly losing his life in the latter. He was also actively engaged in the battle of Springfield, and present, in 1781, at the capture of the British army in Yorktown. Praised be his patriotism! His son, George C. Barber, for many years was a trustee of the First Presbyterian Church at Elizabethtown, and died one of its ruling elders.
In the year 1786, the Rev. William Linn, D. D., was here installed, June 14, 1786. He was a native of Penn- sylvania, and born in 1752, graduating from Princeton College when twenty years old ; and soon we find him a chaplain in the American army. Remaining only a few months in Elizabethtown, he received and accepted a call to the Reformed Dutch church in the city of New York. To benefit his health, he removed to Albany, where he ended his ministry, nearly reaching his fifty- sixth year. He was a very popular and useful divine, and his son, the Rev. John Blair Linn, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, died at the early age of twenty-seven. A poet and orator, he gave promise of becoming one of the most able ministers ju the land. His daughter was the wife of Simeon Dewitt, for many years the well-known Surveyor-General of the State of New York.
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CHLAPTER XXXV.
REV. DAVID AUSTIN SUCCEEDS MR. LINN, AND HAS A STRANGE HISTORY -DECLARES THE COMING OF CHRIST (1796)-GREAT EXCITEMENT -TAKES THE VOW OF A NAZARITE-REMOVES TO NEW HAVEN, AND FINALLY WAS RELIEVED OF HIS PANATICISM- SUCCESSORS- - DRS. KOLLOCK, MCDOWELL, AND MURRAY-SECOND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, AND METHODIST EPISCOPAL-REV. THOMAS MORRELL.
THE Rev. David Austin succeeded Dr. Linn. He was born at New Haven, in 1760. Early fitted for college, he graduated at Yale in 1779, and having spent some time in foreign travel, he returned. and became pastor of the Elizabethtown Presbyterian Church, September 9, 1788. 1Ie has a strange history, and labored among his flock, greatly beloved and very useful, until the close of 1795. During that year, he suffered a violent attack of scarlet fever, and, although slowly recovering, still it affected his mind. He commeneed the study of the Prophecies during his recovery, which soon plainly produced a mental disease, and he never entirely re- covered from this affliction. As soon as he resumed his pulpit labors, he commenced discoursing on the 60th chapter of Isaiah, and taught the personal reign of the Saviour, and that His coming would take place on the fourth Sabbath of May, 1796. An immense excitement followed, and on that Sabbath, multitudes could not find room to stand in his church. On the previous
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evening, he dwelt upon the preaching of Jonah to the Ninevites, and exhorted the people to follow their ex- ample. Mourning and weeping were now heard in all parts of the excited assembly. But the following day, the sun rose as usual, but with more than usual Sabbath brightness. The church was filled, and surrounded with a vast crowd, but the sacred day of rest passed away without any unusual occurrence, and many of his followers saw his and their delusion. His friends hoped that the mortifying disappointment would cure his false prophesying. and the Session remonstrated ; but, as is usual in such cases, his ingenuity found excuses for the delay of the predicted advent. He declared that the mere mercy of God prevented the punishment of the people, and he now took the vow of a Nazarite, preach- ing three sermons a day, through this section of the country. His constant theme was the near and certain approach of Christ, with His personal reign on the earth. As Joshua led the Jews into the promised land, and as John the Baptist was the forerunner of our Saviour, so he was to bring in the millennial reign of righteousness.
The congregation, now seriously disturbed by his proceedings, appointed a committee to wait upon him, to learn his future intentions. He replied in writing, avowing his purpose "to institute a new church, and set up a new order of things in ecclesiastical concerns. independent of the Presbytery, of the Synod, or of the General Assembly." To warrant such a course, ho ro- ferred them to the third and sixth chapters of the pro- phecy of Zechariah. The strange letter from which this is extracted, was dated . April 7. A. D. 1797."
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Mr. Austin's elders, deacons, and trustees, having no desire to establish a now and "independent" church among them, petitioned their Presbytery, that the " pas- toral relation between the Rev. David Austin and said congregation" might be dissolved. This request was granted, and after his removal he returned to New Haven, whence he imagined the Jews would embark for a literal return to the Holy Land. He even erected a wharf and houses for their use on the occasion, and, poor man, unable to discharge the debts thus incurred, he was imprisoned for some time.
His mind recovering in some degree, in 1804 he re- turned to Elizabeth, and, refused his old pulpit, he again returned to New England. Mercifully continuing to improve, he once more entered upon a course of useful- ness, and in 1815 received and accepted a call to the church at Bosrah. Here he regularly preached with great success until his death, February 5, 1831, aged seventy-two years.
Up to the period of his severe affliction, Mr. Austin was universally admired and beloved. His conversa- tional powers were extraordinary ; his devotional exer- cises peculiarly impressive ; and few, it is stated, ex- celled him in public prayer. He edited and published a Bible Commentary, some of President Edwards's works. and the " American Preacher, " until it reached its fourth volume. At the height of his fame and usefulness, his intellect became disordered, from which he never wholly recovered. Let all who favor fanatical views about the speedy destruction of our world learn wisdom from his sad case.
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The Rev. John Giles was the next Presbyterian min- ister in Elizabethtown, a native of England, where he preached with great success for nine years. He reached America in 1798, and was installed pastor of this church, June 4, 1800, and after a short residence, he settled at Newburyport, Mass. (1803), where he labored diligently until his death, in 1824. During the year 1800, the Rev. Henry Kollock took the spiritual charge of this congre- gation. and after a successful ministry of three years, was elected Professor of Divinity in the College of New Jersey. Subsequently he settled in Savannah, Georgia, and ended his days universally lamented. December 29, 1819. His pulpit eloquence was unsurpassed during his day.
In 1804, the Rev. John MeDowell, D. D., was ordained the successor of Dr. Kollock, and with fidelity served this congregation twenty-nine years, and then. in 1833, became the pastor of the Central Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia. Nicholas Murray, D.D., was the next preacher, and settled here in 1833.
The Second Presbyterian Church of Elizabethtown was organized in 1819, and its first and present minister is the excellent Rey. Dr. Magie.
A Methodist Episcopal church was commenced here as early as the year 1785, the Rev. Thomas Morrell, one of the fathers of American Methodism, laboring here for many years. A major in the army of the Revolution, he was wounded, and distinguished himself on several occasions. Of great energy and forvent piety, he began to preach in 1286, and joyfully ended his earthly pil-) grimage (1838) at the prolonged age of ninety-one years.
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CHAPTER XXXVI.
CHARLES II. INCORPORATES THE SOCIETY TO PREACHI THE GOSPEL AMONG THE NATIVES OF AMERICA (1661) - ARCHBISHOP TENISON -WILLIAM HI. INCORPORATES ANOTHER, AND OF GREAT SERVICE TO THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH -COLONEL MORRIS -HIS REPORT ON STATE OF RELIGION IN NEW JERSEY -- KEITH AND TALBOT'S MIS- SIONARY TOUR-JOHN BROOK, FIRST EPISCOPAL CLERGYMAN IN ELIZABETHTOWN-IIIS REPORTS-ST. JOHN'S BUILT (1706) -THIS LABORS-LORD CORNBURY UNITES THE ' NEW JERSEY AND NEW YORK PROVINCES-IMPRISONS THE REV. MR. MOORE -- MR. BROOK, FEARING THE SAME TREATMENT, SAILS FOR ENGLAND -CORNBURY REMOVED AND IMPRISONED, AND AFTER BECOMES A PEER -MR. VAUGHAN THE NEXT MISSIONARY -PISCATAQUA -THE EARLIEST BAPTIST SETTLEMENT (1663), AND THEIR FIRST PREACHER, HUGH DUNN-SUCCESSORS-CHURCH AT SCOTCH PLAINS-EPISCOPALIANS AGAIN-MR. VAUGHAN MARRIES A FORTUNE -- PREACHES IN ELIZA- BETH FORTY YEARS-SUCCESSORS-REV. MR. CHANDLER, ETC., ETC., DOWN TO 1853.
ELIZABETHTOWN EPISCOPAL CHURCHI.
KING CHARLES THE SECOND, in the year 1661, incor- porated a religious company. for the propagation of the Gospel among the heathen natives of New England, and the parts adjacent, in America. It is more necessary to notice this incorporation, because, for many years, the important work of colonial missions was conducted by the private zeal and liberality of some Christian people in Europe. Archbishop Tenison, becoming exceedingly concerned in the religious wants of the American colo- nies, or plantations, exerted himself in their behalf.
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From his representations to William the Third, His Ma- jesty, on the 16th of June, 1701, incorporated by royal charter the "Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts." To this venerable body the Episco- pal Church in America owes an immense debt, which she can best repay by similar activity and liberality in the work of Christian missions. Under the fostering care of this society were laid the earliest foundations of our colonial Episcopal churches.
New Jersey was then a portion of the New York col- ony and government ; and, in the year 1700. Colonel Morris wrote a memorial about the state of religion in the Jerseys. "The province of East Jersey has in it ten towns. vzt. : Middletown, Freehold, Amboy, Pisca- taway, and Woodbridge, Elizabeth Town. Newark, Aquechenonch, and Bergen ; and, I judge, in the whole province, there may be about eight thousand souls. These towns are not like the towns in England -the houses built close together on a small spot of ground- but they include large portions of the country, of from five, eight, ten. twelve, fifteen miles in length, and as much in breadth. . These towns, and the whole province, were peopled mostly from the adjacent colo- nies of New York and New England, and generally by persons of very narrow fortunes, and such as could not well subsist in the places they left. And if such people could bring any religion with them, it was that of the country they came from, and the state of them is as fol- lows : Elizabeth Town and Newark were poo- pled from New England : are generally Independents : they have a meeting-house in each town for their public
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worship. There are some few Churchmen, Presbyte- rians. Anabaptists, and Quakers settled among them."
The memorial of Colonel Morris closes with this good advice, and. although suggested more than a century and a half ago, is wholesome in our day: "Let the king, the archbishop, ye bishops and great men. admit no man, for so many years, to any great benefice, but such as shall oblige themselves to preach three years, gratis, in America. With part of the living, let him maintain a curate, and the other part let Him apply to his own use. By this means, we shall have the greatest and best men ; and, in human probability, such men must, in a short time, make a wonderful progress in the conversion of those countries-especially, when it is perceived the good of souls is the only motive to this undertaking."
In the years 1702-3, the Rev. George Keith and the Rev. John Talbot made a missionary tour to this region, the former publishing, in 1706, "A Journal of Travels, from New Hampshire to Caratuck, on the Continent of North America." He says, Nov. 3, 1703: " I preached at Andrew Craig's, in the township of Elizabeth Town, on 2 Pet. i. 5 : and baptized his four children." On Sunday, December 19, following, he delivered sermons at the house of Colonel Townley, both forenoon and afternoon. from 1 Pet. xi. 9. " Many of that town." he adds. " having been formerly a sort of Independents, are become well affected to the Church of England, and desire to have a minister sont to them. There I baptized a child of Mr. Shakmaple."
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