: ; FIRST CHURCH IN NEWARK. HISTORICAL DISCOURSES, RELATING TO THB $int Jm&stman Cjmrtfr m UMark ORIGINALLY DELIVERED TO THE CONGREGATION OF THAT CHURCH DURING THE MONTH OF JANUARY, 1851. /A BY JONATHAN F. STEARNS, D. D., PASTOR OP TnE CHCRCH, WITH NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. NEWARK PRINTED AT THE DAILY ADVERTISER OFFICE. 1853. Entered according to Act of Congress A. D. 1853, by Jonathan F. Stearns, in the Clerk's office of the District Court of the United States, in and for the State of New Jersey. $iui yrcsbntcriaii (l(uutI>, Rrtuarl;, il. |, • in. i tone laid, Sept. 1787. Opened tor worship, Jan. 1, 1791. PREFACE. These Discourses were prepared, originally, without the remotest reference to publication ; indeed, the writer had no intention, at the beginning, beyond the preparation of a single practical discourse, founded on a slight glance at the history of the congregation, the early part of which he then supposed had been traced with sufficient minuteness and accuracy by another hand. But this supposition was soon found to be erroneous ; and, as he proceeded, the materials so grew upon his hands that he was insensibly led to extend his narrative to the space of four pulpit discourses. In preparing them for the press, it seemed necessary to pay more regard to completeness and accuracy than had entered into the original plan. In order to this, much must be added, and many obscure points care- fully re-examined. The labor incident to such inqui- ries no one knows who has not tried the experiment. The materials must be collected from the widest spaces, and brought into true connection with each VI PEEFACE. other by the most careful consideration of times and circumstances. The determination of a date may often require to be pursued through volumes, pamphlets, records and obscure manuscripts, the examination of which will cost days of toil, and access to them be ob- tained only by the tardy process of correspondence, or by visiting in person remote places. And after all, perhaps, the result is one which the ordinary reader will either not notice, or regard as a mere matter of course. In the pursuit of these objects, most of the discourses have been entirely re-written. Some of them have been extended to a length manifestly incompatible with their original design. Details have been de- scended to, which, however valuable in a local history, as contributing to complete the picture of the men and the times, seem hardly suitable to the dignity and sacredness of the pulpit. And as scarcely a third of the matter now presented was contained in the dis- courses as delivered, the writer has hesitated whether he should not abandon the original plan, and give the work the form of a continuous narrative. But, besides the necessity of re-casting the whole, should that change be adopted, the present form seems to have some advantages, at least for the people specially con- cerned ; and he has concluded to let it stand as it is. PKEFACE. vii The sources from which the facts have been drawn are generally indicated by foot-notes, especially in the earlier periods. Besides various well-known histories, genealogical publications, pamphlets, &c, which need not be mentioned here; the original records of the town of Newark ; the printed minutes of the old Pres- bytery of Philadelphia and the Synods prior to the formation of the General Assembly; the records of the various Presbyteries with which the Church has been connected, from the year 1774 to the present time ; the records of the Church as far as they extend ; the records of the Board of Trustees, and various packages of old deeds, wills, letters, <fcc, <fcc, have been carefully examined. It is much to be regretted that the records of the Church, extending from the year 1696 to the time of the Revolutionary war, were destroyed when the British troops had possession of the town in 1776, and those which remain date back only to August, 1781, after Dr. Macwhorter's return from the South. It seems necessary to say a word respecting the ef- forts of this venerable pastor to preserve the Church's history, when it seemed passing into hopeless oblivion. Dr. Macwhorter's Century Sermon has been the author- ity for most of the statements which have been made since his time. Besides this, however, he wrote two viii PREFACE. other sketches—one in the introduction to the first volume of the Sessional Records, and the other in re- sponse to a call from the General Assembly for mate- rials for a History of the Presbyterian Church. This last is the one quoted by Dr. Hodge in his " Constitu- tional History," under the title of " Manuscript History of Dr. Macwhorter," and is referred to in this narrative under the same name. All these sketches contain material errors. Dr. M., as he informs us, relied for his authority chiefly upon tradition. "All I can say," says he, " must consist of a few brief hints, as I possess no documents or written materials whence even those hints are derived, except what have been taken from the relations of old people to me in former times. Therefore it must not be expected that they will be very accurate, nor will I vouch for the perfect truth of all that may be said." As a specimen of this inaccur- acy, I may refer to what he says of the influence of the Saybrook Platform in shaping the affairs of this Church, years before that platform was framed ; or to the case of the Rev. Mr. Bowers, whom he represents as having been dismissed for reasons not now known, and to have died in 1721, in his thirty-fourth year; whereas his tomb-stone shows that he died in the year 1*716, in his forty-third year, and the records of the town plainly indicate that he retained the pastoral PKEFACE. ix office till liis decease. Dr. Macwhorter's narratives are valuable, but of course cannot be relied upon, wherever unquestionable documents contradict their statements. In preparing these discourses, the writer has received valuable assistance from William A. Whitehead, Esq., Dr. S. H. Pennington, Mr. James Ross, Rev. William E. Schenck, Rev. James Richards, D. D., Rev. Richard Webster, Rev. Stephen Dodd of East Haven, Rev. Lyman Atwater, D. D., of Fairfield, Conn., and Rev. Samuel Sewall of Burlington, Mass. ; but especially from Mr. S. H. Congar, the indefatigable antiquarian of New- ark. The map and its explanations are Mr. Cougar's. His thanks are due to Rev. Dr. Hodge, for the use of manuscripts belonging to him as historian of the Presbyterian Church, and to Rev. Dr. James W. Alex- ander, for the use of letters respecting Rev. Aaron Burr, and the Latin oration of the learned President, to which reference has been made in these pages. It can hardly be presumed that perfect accuracy has been secured amidst so many minute particulars. But, accidental errors excepted, the statements, it is believed, will be found reliable. Wherever an opinion has been expressed, it has been introduced distinctly as an opin- ion, and will pass for what it is worth. Where tradi- tionary statements have been made, their source has X PREFACE. been indicated. In general, wherever any doubt has existed respecting any fact or representation, the authority has been referred to, that the reader may weigh it for himself. With these explanations, the following pages are committed to the judgment of the candid. If the result shall be to preserve the memory of a most worthy race "of men, and the early fortunes of a most useful Christian organization ; if the spirit of the fa- thers may thereby be transferred to the children, not only of this but of succeeding generations, and thus a benefit conferred on a beloved Church, for whose spiritual good it is the writer's pleasure to labor, his efforts will be more than compensated. TABLE OF CONTENTS. DISCOURSE I. Introduction. Relations of Church and Town. Causes of the settlement of Newark. Affairs in New Haven and Connecticut. State of the Province of New Jersey. The Concessions. Purchase of Newark Township. " Fun- damental Agreement." Object of the settlers. Internal Regulations. The name "Newark." Origin of the Church. Ministry of Abraham Pierson, senior. His origin, and Missionary labors. Character of the leading men in the Settlement. Wholesome Regulations. The Civil and Divine Right. Prompt payment of quit-rents. Collision with the Proprietary Government of New Jersey. Defence of Rights against Proprietary Encroachment. Conquest of the Province by the Dutch. Usurpation of Andros. Treat- ment of the Indians. First Meeting-house erected. Death of Abraham Pierson, senior. Ministry of Abraham Pierson, junior. Glimpse of the Congregation. Meeting-house fortified, and the worshippers armed. Death of many of the first settlers. Dismission of Abraham Pierson, junior. His Character. Conclusion, (pp. 1-93.) DISCOURSE II. Introduction. Second generation of the men of Newark. Ministry of John Prudden. His origin and settlement. His dismission and retirement from the Ministry. Origin of the Parsonage property. Ministry of Jabez Wakeman. His character and early death. Samuel Whittlesy is invited to become Pastor, and declines. Oppressive and vexatious conduct of Lord Cornbury. Rev. Francis Makemie finds sympathizers in Newark. Minis- try of Nathaniel Bowers. Erection of the second Meeting-house. First Church in Orange organized. Ministry of Joseph Webb. Introduction of Presbyterianism. The Church joins the Presbytery of Philadelphia. State of the Presbyterian Churches. Difficulties about candidates for the Minis- try. About Government. The "Adopting Act." Modifications and ex- planations of that Act. Presbytery of East Jersey.