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FiEST Ghukch.^
ORANGE, N. J. ^i
^ixrcW.
#tte fumtlt^tt antf |Jfttrth ginniw^atij),
November 24 and 25, 1869.
MEMORIAL.
" They shall still bring forth fruit in old age."
PUBLISHED FOR THE SESSION,
BY JENNINGS BROTHERS, PRINTERS, NEWARK, N. J.
187 0.
PT,
/ '44-
L^
In Exchansre.
21 S '08
'Of), that I were an 'Vrange tree,
Tb<^t busy plant !
Then should X ever laden he,
^nd never want
Some fruit for Jlim that dresseth rne.
George Herbebt.
CONTENTS.
I. Introduction.
II. Sermon, by Rev. E. Mix, Pastor.
in. Inauguration of Mural Tablet, by Rev. W.
H. Green, D. D.
rV. Historical Discourse, by Rev. E. 11. Gil-
LETT, D. D.
V. Poem, by A. D. F. Randolph, Esq.
VI, Rev. James Hoyt, with Recollections of his
Pastorate, by Stephen Wickes, M. D.
I.
IHTR^ODUCTIOl^
BY THE
COMMITTEE OF PUBLICATION.
"The Lord our God be with us, as He was with our
fathers. Let Him not leave us nor forsake us; that He
nnay incline our hearts unto Him, to walk in all His
ways, and to keep His commandments, and His statutes,
and His judgments, which He commanded our fathers."
I. Kings, viii: 57, 58.
INTRODUCTION.
HE preliminary steps for the commemoration of
the One Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of
the First Church of Orange, were taken by its
Session on the 17th of June, 1868.
A Committee, appointed at that time, reported in due
season a circular of invitation to those interested in the past
history of the Church, and an order of exercises for the anni-
versary occasion, which was formally adopted.
The circular was issued in the month of October, and was
as follows : '
The First Presbyterian Church of Orange closes with the present year the
One Hundred and Fiftieth of its existence as a Church Organization. Its Officers
and Members deem the event worthy of special remembrance, recalling, as it does,
the goodness of God which has distinguished its history in the past, and inviting us to
celebrate His mercies in the undiminished vigor and prosperity of its old age.
We propose to celebrate the Anniversary of its foundation on the 24M and 2si/i
days of November jiext ; and we cordially invite all its sons and daughters, and all
others who, in any way, are associated with its history, to unite with us on that occa-
sion in COMMEMORATIVE RELIGIOUS SERVICES, AND SOCIAL CHRISTIAN REUNION.
Our hearts and homes will be open to all those whose past history has inspired
them with a love for our Zion, and sympathy in its welfare.
We invite a reply from you at your earliest convenience.
Eldridge Mix, Pastor,
Stephen Wickes,
Henry N. Beach,
Orange, Oct. 6, 1S69. Committee 0/ Session.
10 FIRST CEWRCE, ORANGE.
The Exercises on the 24th and 25th of November were in
accordance with the Programme, which was printed for the
occasion :
P^oq^^^|vi|yi E.
iSH^II ^xtnlni^, 7-1 0'.d.o;
Voluntary By Choir.
INVOCATION.
Opening Hymn By Rev, W. Bradley.*
Eternal, ever gracious God, Our fathers' God we own as ours.
The portion, and unfailing trust Nor would we ingrate children prove ;
Of worthies, who this ground once trod, But consecrate to Thee our powers.
But now are sleeping in the dust. In steadfast faith and earnest love.
Those noble men we honor still, O help us celebrate this day.
Who 'mid privations, toils and fears, That crowns the hundred Jijiieih year.
Their high commission did fulfill — And while we wait, and praise, and pray.
Foundations laid for future years. Reveal Thy gracious presence here.
READING OF SCRIPTURE.
PRAYER.
HYMN.
Sermon By Rev. E. Mix, Pastor.
INAUGURATION OF THE MEMORIAL TABLET
OF
Rev'ds Dan'i- Tati.or and Caleb Smith, nv Rev. W. Henry Green, D. D.,
A lineal descendant of the latter.
DOXOLOGY AND BENEDICTION.
* A Member of the Congregation.
INTRODUCTION. 11
, 3 ^'tUtl, i. p.
Psalm go. — From Rev. Cotton Mather's Colleftions, 1718.
Lord, Thou hast evermore to us || an habitation been, || from one Age to another
Age II sweetly protecting' IIS. \\
Before the Mountains were brought forth || or Thou hadst formed the earth || and
world, even from Age to Age || Thou art the Mighty God. ||
To them that are thy Servants now l| O let thy work be seen ; |I thy glory also
unto those || that are thy children here. ||
And let the lovely brightness of || the Lord who is our God, || with a conspicuous
lustre be \\ seen shining upon us ; || and the work of our hands, do Thou || establish
upon us; || yea, the work of our hands do Thou || firmly establish it. ||
PRAYER.
Psalm 48 From Tate & Brady's Colleftion.
My soul for help on God relies,
From Him alone my safety flows :
My Rock, my health that strengtli supplies.
To bear the shock of all my foes.
God does His saving health dispense,
And flowing blessings daily send ;
He is my fortress and defence,
On Him my soul shall still depend.
In Him, ye people, always trust,
Before His throne pour out your hearts ;
For God, the merciful and just,
His timely aid to us imparts.
Historical Discourse By Rev. E. H. Gillett, D. D.
CORONATION HYMN.
BENEDICTION.
12 FIEST CEURCH, ORANGE.
Voluntary By Choir.
PRAYER.
Poem,
By a. D. F. Randolph, Esq.
DISCOURSE.
Rev. James HoyT, with Recollections of his Pastorate,
By Stephen WiCKES, M. D., Member of Session.
Closing Hymn By Rev. W. Bradley.
Our gracious God and Saviour,
In closing, help us raise
To Thee our hearts and voices
In thankfulness and praise.
We thank Thee for our Birthright
As children of the Free !
And all our common blessings.
Which come direct from Thee.
For this enjoyed re-union
Of cherished. Christian friends :
For every reminiscence
Which, in its nature tends
To bind our hearts together.
And make us truly one :
For this delightful service.
Like Heaven on earth begim,
We offer our thanksgivings
With earnest heart and voice :
We sing of thy salvation.
And in thy strength rejoice.
We thank Thee for the Fathers-
Fox all their work well done.
And all they le/t unfinished ;
A work for us begun.
May "i-ve be found as faithful —
As steadfast and as true —
The glory of the Master
Our highest end in view.
And when our work is finished.
And we go home to rest.
With transport and with wonder
We'll sing among the blest.
And now to God our Father,
And God, His only Son,
And God, the Holy Spirit —
The Blessed Three in One ;
Whom Saints delight to honor,
And angels all adore ;
Be glory, praise and blessing.
For ever, evermore.
RE-UNION IN LIBRARY HALL.
INTRODUCTION. 13
The interior of the church was appropriately decorated
with evergreens, two shields being placed on either side of the
facade above and back of the pulpit, with the figures in ever-
green, " 1719," " 1869." The outer border of the reading
desk was trimmed with lichens gathered from the ancient
headstones of the old parish burying place ; and an anchor
was attached to the centre front made from the same, taken
from the monuments of the first two ministers of the church.
During the services of the second evening, the pastor, after
the reading of the poem, led forward on his arm the venerable
Cyrus Jones, Esq., a native of Orange, and introduced him to
the assembly as the oldest member of the church, and the oldest
citizen of the town, being in the one hundredth year of his
age. The congregation, rising, at the suggestion of the pastor,
sang, "Praise God," &c., to the tune of " Old Hundred."
The following report of the original Committee of Arrange-
ments was presented to the Session, and adopted on the 28th
of December, 1869 :
Your Committee would respectfully report, that according to previous arrange-
ments, the One Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of this Church was celebrated on
the 24th and 25th days of November ; the exercises consisting of a sermon by the
Pastor; an historical discourse, by Rev. E. H. Gillett, D. D. ; an inaugural address,
at the unveiling of the tablet commemorating the first two ministers of the church, by
Rev. W. Henry Green, D. D. ; a history of the ministry of Rev. James Hoyt, by
Stephen Wickes, M. D. ; and a poem by A. D. F. Randolph, Esq. ; concluded
by a re-union in Library Hall.
14 FIRST CnURCH, ORANQE.
Your Committee propose the adoption of the following Resolution, and its trans-
mbsion to each of the persons named, not connected with the Church, who added so
greatly to the interest of the occasion :
Resolved, That the grateful acknowledgments of this Church are due, and in its
behalf, and as its representatives, we do hereby tender them to Rev. E. H. Gillett,
D. D., and Rev. W, Henry Green, D. D., for their valuable addresses, and to A. D.
F. Randolph, Esq., for his excellent poem, so kindly prepared and delivered at our
One Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary ; and also request a copy of the same for
publication.
The sermon by the Pastor of the church, and the discourse
on the pastorate of the Rev. J.ames Hoyt, were also requested
for publication, and the original Committee of Arrangements
were appointed by the Session a Committee of Publication.
II.
REV. ELDRIDGE MIX,
Pastor of the Chuech.
"That the generations to come might know them,
even the children which should be born, who should
arise and declare them to their children, that they
might set their hope in God and not forget the works
of God, but keep His commandments."
rsALM Ixxviii : c, 7.
SERMON.
Exodus xii : 26 — " What mean ye h/ this service ?"
0 commemorate important events of
the past, is both natural and every way
befitting. The citizens of a nation which
they love, whose name is their boast, and whose
history is their pride, are prompted, as if by
instinct, and by a sense of what is becoming, in
some suitable manner, gratefully to celebrate the
event which gave it birth, and trace, with thankful
heart, its growth and prosperity, from that begin-
ning. How instinctive, and proper also, the com-
memoration of birth-days, or of any event of
great significance in our history, such as some
remarkable turning-point therein, a crisis of future
destiny, the dawn of a new era in the ongoing of
our life, a providential deliverance from some
unforeseen peril.
18 FIRST CHURCH, ORANGE.
Ill obedience to this natural prompting, you find
commemorative days, and seasons, set apart, and
in some way observed by nations, by social organi-
zations of whatsoever kind they may be, and by
individuals everywhere. It is not without its most
salutary and beneficial efl:ects. Greatly to be de-
plored would be its abandonment, for any cause,
when the event is worthy of commemorating, to
which any given observance relates. For example,
who would be content to have the anniversary of
the birth of this republic, under which we live,
pass by unnoticed and disregarded, and the mem-
ory of that great event in our national history be
suffered to grow dim, and gradually fade out of
the distinct recollection of the people, even though
there is much connected with its observance which
we could wish otherwise ? "Would it not be an
incalculable loss to us, as a nation, not to have those
stirring scenes and solemn transactions which clus-
ter about the declaration of our independence, to-
gether with the sublime devotion, the heroic faith,
and the fearless courage of those who were actors
in that event, kept in remembrance? Is it not
8EBM0N. 19
wise to set apart a day to remind of these things
which are such an inspiration to true patriotism,
and are so well fitted to incite fidelity in the dis-
charge of the sacred trust reposed in us ?
Indeed, in olden time, among God's people, the
commemoration of past events in their national his-
tory was deemed of too much importance to be left
to the prompting of their feelings, or to their own
regulation in any way whatever. It was solemnly
and authoritatively enjoined, and the precise man-
ner in which the ceremonies of such occasions
should be conducted was prescribed. The Old
Testament is largely made up of history, which
was to be the continual study of the Israelites, in
order that they might never forget what God had
wrought in their behalf; and there were days set
apart not unfrequently in the course of each year,
by divine command, to be employed in celebrating
the more important events with which their history
was filled.
There was one event, especially, which was never
to be forgotten — that which gave to the Israelites
their national existence. Though it was true, as
20 FIEST CEimCE, ORANGE.
another has said of it, that " no subsequent vicissi-
tudes would obliterate the story which Israel trea-
sured in her inmost memory, the story of the stern
Egyptian bondage, followed by the triumphant
exodus, yet everything was done by God to keep it
fresh in their remembrance, and most effective in
its influence over them." " It is not enough," this
same writer adds, " that this great deliverance be
accurately chronicled ; it must be expanded, ap-
plied, insisted on in each of its many bearings and
aspects by the law-giver who directed and described
it ; it must be echoed on from age to age, in the
stern expostulations of prophets, and in the plaint-
ive or jubilant songs of psalmists." Nor yet is
this enough ; but the feast of the Passover, com-
memorative of this event, must be duly observed
with every returning year. When the time for it
came, there must be an entire interruption of the
ordinary routine of family life, a clearing of the
house of all leaven, and the slaying of the firstling
of the flock, to be roasted and eaten at night, witli
the loins girded, feet shod, and staff in hand, and
the blood of the victim was to be sprinkled upon
SERMON. 21
the door-posts. This would naturally provoke the
inquiry, on the part of the children of each suc-
ceeding generation, " What mean ye by this ser-
vice ?" To this question, thus elicited, explicit
answer was to be given, detailing the great event
which it was designed to commemorate.
So that it is in obedience to a natural prompt-
ing of our hearts, and moved also by a sense of
what is befitting, but most of all instructed by pre-
cept and example in God's word, though not di-
rectly commanded, that we as a church are about
to commemorate its founding a century and a half
ago, and associate with that event a consideration
of the time and circumstances in which it began its
existence, and has developed itself, as well as make
a compilation of its written history until the present
time. And there is special reason for the commem-
oration of this event, as we propose, because of the
tendency of the present age. It is crowded with
great concerns, full of the rush and roar of business,
of the turmoil and strife of politics, of the interest
and enthusiasm naturally awakened by new and
splendid discoveries aud inventions. We easily
22 FIRST CEURCn, ORANGE.
forget the past, with its lessons of wisdom, its noble
deeds, its illustrious men and their worthy exam-
ple, its great crises, its seed planting, germinating
and growing of that which now has spread its pro-
tecting branches over us, and rejoices us with its
shade and fruit. Even in the kingdom of God
there is this same danger existing. Events are here
transpiring, which startle us because of their mag-
nitude and significance in respect to the future.
The world is all astir with excitement and activity
in matters of religion. Responsibilities and duties
press upon us, one after the other, in great num-
bers and with a constantly accumulating force.
We are likely to attempt their discharge at a great
disadvantage, to say the least, because untaught by
what has been concerning what shall be, and not im-
bued with the spirit of the past, encouraged and
cheered by its examples, and apprehending its
necessary relations to the future.
It is natural, as we gather to-night for the pur-
pose of inaugurating the ceremonies of the present
occasion, for the inquiry to arise, and we do well to
put the question to each other, which was heard
SER3I0K 23
from tlie lips of the children at the feast of the
Passover, " "What mean ye by this service ?" It is
the part of true wisdom accurately to define for
ourselves, as well as for others, what significance
attaches to the commemorative service in which we
are now about to engage. Just this I propose to
do, esteeming it the most appropriate subject which
can occupy our attention at this hour.
I. We mean hy this service, first of all, gratefully to
recall to our recollection the past history of this church,
and fully to possess ourselves of it as our rightful inher-
itance.
There is always a great and growing importance,
and value, in that which is by-gone and of other
days, belonging to anything which is in itself of
real worth, and is continuous and expansive in its
life, growth, and power of influence through suc-
cessive periods of time. The past in such a case
becomes as a treasure house, built of costly and pre-
cious materials, having an architecture, adornment
and furnishing peculiarly its own, in which are
already stored, and are ever accumulating, memen-
24 FIRST CHURCH, ORANGE.
toes ianumeral)lc, aud of every variety, of the
goodness of God in His gracious interpositions,
wise overruling of unpropitious circumstances and
events, and loving dispensations of mercy and
favor ; the choicest treasures of human experience,
also, wrought out amid the changeful, ever-varying
conditions of our existence upon earth ; the most
valuable lessons of wisdom, too, from which to
gain instruction, because the practical results of
principles and rules of action already tested.
How true this is in respect to the life of an indi-
vidual, each one can discover for himself. Some-
times, in our hasty judgment of the past, after re-
view of what is wrong, imperfect, weak, reflecting
little or no credit upon us, possibly covering us with
shame, we turn from it in disgust, and wish most
heartily that it could all be blotted out. But no
man who rightly appreciates it will for a moment
cherish such a wish. However strongly he may
desire that much of his conduct had been different,
and that his character, even, which therein finds its
truthful record, had been just the opposite in its
moral quality, yet taking it precisely as it is, all
SEEMOK 25
blotted and marred it may be with his own evil
doing, it is full to overflowing of the peculiar and
marvelous manifestations of the love of God, which
are all his own possession ; crowded with various
experiences, which if not pleasant to recall are yet
vocal with needful instruction and solemn warning;
and abounding on every hand with practical lessons
of wisdom, to which it is well to take heed as to
a light in a dark place. To the good man, however,
whose life has been spent in the service of God and
his fellow men, how much there is to cheer and
bless in the recollection ; how fragrant the memo-
ries of the loving kindnesses of a heavenly Father,
with which life thus far, every day of it, has been
crowned ; how inspiring to behold what the Divine
Hand hath wrought through him as its willing
instrument ; how valuable beyond comparison its
teachings concerning the blessedness of those who
hope in God, who trust in Him, and with all their
powers of body, and mind, and heart, love and serve
Him.
The same may be said of family history. Of what
worth it is to have an honored ancestry ; to be able
to trace your descent through a long line of noble
3
26 FIRST CnUIiCn, ORANGE.
men and women, who have left tlieir impress for
good upon the age in which they have lived ; whose
virtues have been transmitted as a goodly heritage,
from parent to child, down through each successive
generation ; and whose lives of purity and goodness
are kept in living remembrance, and held up for
imitation. Such a family history is like an old pic-
ture gallery, quaint and rare in all its appointments ;
hung with all the master-pieces of art, representing
that which is beautiful with exquisite delicacy of
touch and color ; bringing out with bolder, firmer
stroke, that which is rugged and grand ; depicting
also, with the same fidelity and skill, that which is
heroic and sublime in human action, lofty in under-
taking, and noble in achievement. You never
weary of wandering through it, studying with
unflagging interest what is there set forth, drink-
ing in with ever increasing delight and higher
appreciation its inspiring and ennobling influences.
So it is with this gallery of family history, of which
one who belongs to the favored circle which it in-
cludes has the key, and can enter it when he will.
There he finds exhibited all that is lovely and of
good report in the characters and lives of those who
8EBM0N. 27
have graced and adorned the name they bear, by
their virtues and excellencies ; and that which is
full of ruggedness and strength, of real heroism and
sublimity, where great and sore trials have been
endured, dangers faced, difficulties encountered
and overcome, temptations set at naught, and great
achievements won. All this is of incalculable
value to one whose privilege it is to inherit the
treasures of such a family history, and live and act
under their inspiration.
It need not be added, that what is true in rela-
tion to the past in the case of an individual, or of a
family with its long line of honored ancestry, is
equally so in regard to the history of a nation.
You do not need to be told, that every nation upon
the face of the earth takes peculiar pride in all the
great events which have transpired since its founda-
tion, and is careful to chronicle and preserve them;
and how it feels itself richer in honorable records
with every passing year ; how it treasures up the
noble deeds of patriotism which any of its citizens
have performed in its behalf, either in time of war
or peace, and delights to honor their memory ; and
how it glories more and more in all these things
28 FIRST CmmCE, ORANGE.
the older it grows, the more fully and firmly estab-
lished it is, and the more powerful, widely ex-
tended, and influential it becomes. How do we as
a nation, though not yet a century old, pride our-
selves upon our past history, and esteem it an ines-
timable treasure to us already.
But if, in all these instances which I have named,
the past history is of so great value, of how much
greater worth must it be in the case of the church
at large, or even in the case of any single branch of
it, like our own. It cannot be questioned that the
church, inasmuch as it is the outward and visible
representation of the kingdom of Christ upon earth
— the kingdom of redemption — is vastly superior in
rank and importance to these things which I have
named. It is that to whose life, growth and pros-
perity they are to contribute; that which holds in
sacred trust the best interests of the individual, the
family, and the nation, and is prepared to conserve,
establish, and perpetuate all that is truly good in
them. This venerable church, in its century and a
half of existence, comprehends in some measure,
and has woven in with itself, the history of every
one who has lived within sound of its bell summon-
8EBM0N. 29
ing to Sabbath worship ; the history of every family
group which, in its successive generations, has come
upon the stage of action, and still has existence
among us ; the history of the State, and even the
nation. It had its beginning long before the throes
began which gave birth to this Republic, and was
witness of the many stirring scenes of the Revolu-
tion, and an active participant by its membership
in them, some of which occurred in its immediate
vicinity, making the region round about it classic
ground.
Thanks to one of its honored pastors, the lamented
HoYT, who is in spirit with us on this occasion, I
doubt not, though gone to his rest, we have recorded
with the utmost painstaking, and in a true his-
toric spirit, all that could at so late a day be gleaned
from the materials in existence, that was worthy to
be preserved and transmitted to future generations.
It is a record creditable alike to the head and the
heart of its compiler, whose own life and work
among us are held in fresh and loving remem-
brance, and are now to become a part of the writ-
ten history of the people for whose spiritual welfare
he so faithfully labored. It is invaluable to us,
30 FIRST CnURCE, ORANGE.
inasmuch as it relates to the origin, life, and growth
of a church which had committed to it, in the pro-
vidence of God, a most important part to perform
in building up the kingdom of Christ in this region,
and has, as therein exhibited, nobly fulfilled its
mission. There is something very precious and
sacred about such a history. Therein is recited the
many trials and difficulties through which the
church has passed. It brings to view also the faith,
the courage, and the prayerfulness which character-
ized our forefathers in meeting and overcoming
these. It portrays, likewise, with much of detail,
the goodness of God as it has been displayed in
behalf of His people, in the frequent and abundant
outpourings of His Spirit ; in the prosperity with
which He attended their labors of zeal and love;
in the remarkable fruitfulness with which He has
blessed the church, causing her to be the happy
mother of so many worthy daughters, who to-day
rise up to call her blessed, and have themselves
some of them attained to the dignity and honor of
maternity.
It is both pleasing and profitable to trace, as
therein set forth, the peculiar individuality of the
SERMON. 31
church ill its organic life aud growth. Possessing
much in common with its sister churches, being one
with them in Christ Jesus, one in doctrine and
polity, one in its animating spirit and in its pur-
pose, it has had characteristics peculiarly its own,
distinguishing it from all others. There has always
been a certain puritan simplicity about it, which is
quite in keeping with the source whence it had its
origin. And yet it has been thoroughly indigenous,
which is easily to be traced to the material of which
it has been hitherto composed — a solid, substantial
yeomanry, breathing the pure air of this most salu-
brious region, but still so near the great commer-
cial centre of the continent as to feel the influence
of its activity, and of its large and broad way of
viewing all matters. It has been distinguished for
its vital energy, which has rendered it strong in
itself and independent of externals, and but little
shaken apparently by the various trying experi-
ences through which it has passed. This was due to
a most marked and abiding sense of its dependence
upon the great Head of the Church, which is the
true secret of its strength and stability. It has been
characterized by a remarkable purity and sound-
32 FIRST CmmCE, ORANGE.
ness of doctrinal belief in a practical and living
form, so that it has not been " tossed to and fro, and
carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the
sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby
they lie in wait to deceive," giving evidence, in
this, of the fidelity with which a gifted and godly
ministry have labored " in the word and doctrine,"
for its establishment and upholding. It has had a
disposition to devise liberal things for the service of
the Lord, as is clearly shown by this venerable
structure, with it solid walls of hewn stone, so ex-
cellent in its style and finish for the time when it
was erected, so dignified, substantial and commo-
dious, reflecting great credit upon those who were
engaged in its construction, requiring, as it must
have done, much of toil, self-denial and sacrifice at
their hands, which is well worthy of imitation at
the present day ; and also by a similar provision for
the worship of God in the stone edifice which pre-
ceded it ; and likewise by the generous support
which has always been given to those who were
placed over them in the Lord, in the ministerial
office.
But how much there is in the history of this our
SERMON. 33
venerable Zion, wliicli is unwritten and can never
be spread out upon the printed page, or even find
expression in human language, and yet is by far
the larger, and the most precious part, of the legacy
which the past brings down to us. That which is
thus unrecorded has had by far the most to do in
making the church what it is to-day.
In this category must be reckoned the inner life
and experiences of the saintly host who have be-
longed to it through the century and a half of its
existence. "What these have been no man knoweth,
save the Son of Man, whom the beloved disciple in
vision beheld, holding the seven stars in his right
hand, and walking in the midst of the seven golden
candlesticks. They are all recorded in His book of
remembrance, and there stand as a part of the his-
tory of this church, in connection with which they
have transpired. To Him only is it known how
their unconscious influence has gone forth, silently
and unperceived, to mould and give character, and
determine what the future of this spiritual temple
of the Lord should be. It is manifest that these
must have been, for the most part, of a high order
as to piety, fervor and devotion. Otherwise it
34 FIRST CEURCH, ORANGE.
would not be the strong, compact, and firmly estab-
lished spiritual building which it now is, nor have
lingering yet in its sacred precincts the fragrance
of their christian character, and the precious aroma
of their love for the dear Lord, which led them
freely to devote their best and costliest to His ser-
vice. From these holy men and women who have
here lived, labored, and fallen asleep at last in
Jesus, there have gone forth such influences as will
never fail of their effective operation in this church,
so long as the world stands. The good man never
ceases to exist on earth, though every trace of him
may be gone from the sight and memory of men.
He has become a spiritual force, which the Master
will always continue to employ, until the top-most
stone of His living temple upon earth is laid, amid
the shoutings of the angels and the redeemed.
Countless in number, and of every conceivable
variety, are the fervent petitions which have gone
up into the ear of the Most High, who heareth
prayer, in broken utterance, with streaming eye and
falling tear, from the hearts of God's people in all
past time since this church began its existence.
These have been offered, not for present blessings
SERMOK 35
alone, but for blessings in abundant measure to
descend, in all future time, down even to the latest
generation, upon this, the dearest object of their
affection. From the secresy of the closet, where
none but God could hear or see the praying saint
on bended knee ; and from these fields, and wood-
lands, and mountain slopes, and the streets even of
this extended territory, which the parish has em-
braced within its limits, there have been breathed
supplications, which have been winged by strong
faith, and have gone up on swift pinion to Heaven
above. And all along through the rapid flight of
years, these precious prayers have been receiving
continual answer, from a covenant-keeping God.
i^one can estimate what this church, for its quiet,
its purity, its prosperity, its long continuance, its
success, owes to these same prayers. But we all
very well know that every blessing which it has
enjoyed is due, in very large measure, to their won-
derful efficacy. And they are yet laid up in store
for us of the present generation, and for all who
come ^fter us, full of efficacy in procuring blessing
as the clouds of rain, and ready under the Divine
36 FIRST CnUItCn, ORANGE.
direction as they, to cause the grateful, fertilizing
shower to fall upon us. In the hands of the four
beasts, and of the four and twenty elders, whom
the Apostle John beheld prostrating themselves
before the Lamb, who was about to open the seven
seals of the mystical book, there were golden vials
full of odors, which are the prayers of the saints.
Does not this signify that these prayers are a trea-
sure laid up in Heaven to receive answer in abun-
dant measure in all future time ? How does the
past come down to us, then, laden with inexhaust-
ible riches, in the fervent supplications of pious
hearts, ofiercd up in behalf of this church so dear
to them, all unnoted and unrecorded upon earth,
but held in precious remembrance on high !
ISTor of less worth is another portion of our inher-
itance in the past history of this church — the mani-
fold and varied endeavors of the great company of
Christ's servants who have occupied hitherto this
vineyard of the Lord. With faith and prayer they
have cultivated the soil, and sown the seed, which
is yet to spring up and bear an abundant harvest,
though something of the fruitage is already gath-
SEEMOK 37
ered into' the heavenly storehouses. The seed of
the Word, which it is the christian's privilege to
sow, is sometimes long in springing up. It lies
dormant, awaiting God's time, as the seed of a
former generation of forest trees lies in the rich
loam until the right time for it to spring up shall
come. And when it does shoot upward from out
the soil in which it is planted, and reach its fruit-
hearing, it is not of short life, but is like the tree
" planted by the rivers of water, whose leaf also
shall not wither." The abundant and faithful
labors of Christ's ministers, who have here lived
and died, think you that they have ceased to be
fruitful of good to this church, sources of its vitality
and power, hidden springs from which flow refresh-
ing streams of holy influence ? By no means. ISTot
while the world stands, shall this prove true. Nei-
ther has God forgotten a single earnest endeavor
for the upbuilding of this church, put forth in
weakness by the feeblest member of the flock.
Nor will He fail to render it also fruitful of blessing
thereto, until the end of time. " He that goeth forth
and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubt-
38 FIRST cmmcn, orange.
less come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves
with him," when the long working day of the
world's redemption is ended. The sowing is man's
work. But the growing, and fruit-bearing, and
harvesting, are God's care. And these latter pro-
cesses will continue until the song of the angels,
shouting harvest home, is heard resounding through
the skies.
How very precious, then, is the past, by reason
of these toilsome and tearful, yet trustful and loving
labors of our forefathers for the salvation of souls,
for the establishment and upbuilding of this church,
for the honor of Christ and the glory of God.
They each, under the Divine superintendence, are
noiselessly working among the life forces of this
spiritual building, which is slowly growing up " to
an holy temple in the Lord, in whom we also are
builded together, for an habitation of God through
the Spirit."
Ye see then your inheritance, brethren, which the
past history of this venerable church yields into
your hands, as yours, and bids you take up, and
employ, and transmit to future generations. We
SERMON. 39
are now engaging in a service, one purpose of which
is the review of our priceless inheritance, which
has come down to us from our godly ancestry, who
were fellow members with us of this household of
faith. We are bidden to look upon it, that we may
see how it is enriched with their prayers and tears,
and adorned by their holy walk and conversation^
and fragrant with their benedictions, which they
left behind them upon all who should come after,
as they passed from earth to Heaven. We are sum-
moned thus to behold it, that we may understand
its real worth, its manifold resources, the many
advantages which it affords, and the numerous bless-
ings it confers. We are thus to contemplate it that
we may fully possess ourselves of it, and make it
all our own as our rightful inheritance. This is in
part our answer to the inquiry which so naturally
arises, " What mean ye by this service ?"
II. But this is not all. We would also cast our
eyes forward into the yet unrevealed future, to dis-
cover, if we may, what the possibilities are in reference
to the future history of this church, what mission it yet
40 FIRST CHURCn, ORANGE.
has to jperform, ivhai place to Jill, and what results to
achieve. We must not sit down to content ourselves
with ivhai has been already- but exjjlore what is
before us, to see ichat may yet be in time to come,
whereby the inheritance we have received may be
enlarged, beautified, and enriched. To do other-
wise is a most fatal error. " Precious indeed," says
Liddon, in his Bampton Lectures, " precious indeed
to every wise man, to every association of true-
hearted and generous men, must ever be the inher-
itance of the past. Yet what is the past without
the future 'i What is memory when unaccompanied
by hope ? Look at the case of the single soul. Is
it not certain that a life of high, earnest purpose,
will die outright if it is permitted to sink into the
placid reverie of perpetual retrospect ; if the man
of action becomes the mere " laudator temporis
acti ?" How is the force of moral life developed
and strengthened ? Is it not by successive, con-
scious efibrts to act and to suffer at the call of duty?
Must not every moral life dwindle and fade away,
if it be not reaching forward to a standard higher,
truer, purer, stronger, than its own ? Will not the
SERMON. 41
struggles, the sacrifices, tlie self-conquests even of
a great character, in by-gone years, if they now oc-
cupy its whole field of vision, only serve to consum-
mate its ruin ? As it doatingly fondles them in
memory, will it not be stiffened by conceit into a
moral petrifaction, or consigned by sloth to the
successive processes of moral decomposition ? Has
not the author of our life so bound up its deepest
instincts and yearnings with His own eternity, that
no blessings in the past would be blessings, if they
were utterly unconnected with the future ? * * *
A natioii must have a future before it, a future
which can rebuke its despondency, and can direct
its enthusiasm ; a future for which it will prepare
itself ; a future which it will aspire to create, and
control. Unless it would barter away the vigorous
nerve of true patriotism, for the feeble pedantry of
a soulless archaeology, a nation cannot fall back
altogether upon the centuries which have flattered
its ambition, or which have developed its material
well-beiug. Something it must propose to itself as
an object to be compassed in coming time, some-
thing which is as yet beyond it. * * * So it is
also in the case of society. The greatest of all
3
42 FIRST CnURCn, ORANOE.
societies among men at tliis moment is the church
of Jesus Christ. Is she sustained only by the deeds
and writings of her saints, and martyrs in a distant
past, or only by her reverent, trustful sense of the
Divine Presence which blesses her in the actual
present ? Does she not resolutely pierce the gloom
of the future, and confidently reckon upon new
struggles and triumphs on earth, and beyond these
upon a home in heaven, wherein she will enjoy rest
and victory ; a rest that no trouble can disturb — a
victory that no reverse can forfeit ?"
Assuredly we must give full and hearty assent to
these sentiments, so eloquently expressed and en-
forced, and feel that they have direct and most per-
tinent application to us at the present time. It is
our solemn duty to consider well the future, and
ponder deeply what it has in store for the church
with which we stand connected, if we and those
who come after us do not fail of our duty and privi-
lege in this matter.
It requires but the • most cursory glance into
the near future, to discover that we are upon the
verge of something grander and nobler in concep-
tion and execution than ever yet has been realized.
SERMON. 43
in every department of liuman activity. Though
there may not be so much accomplished, perhaps,
in the way of new discoveries, yet in the appli-
cation of those which have been already made, to
meet the necessities of men, an era of prodigious
undertakings is dawning upon us. Nor are these
such as cannot be carried through to completion,
or when consummated, likely to prove of little
value. Enough has already been achieved to show
that the energy of will which is brought into use,
will be quite equal to the mighty strain put upon
it ; and also that the judgment exercised will not
be at fault in giving right direction to whatever is
undertaken. The girdling of continents with iron
roadways; the traversing of oceans which wash
shores widely distant from each other with swift
steamships ; the tying together of great countries
by a wire thread stretched along the bottom of the
wide sea, or in the thin atmosphere above the earth,
through which intelligence can. be flashed in the
twinkling of an eye, we must regard as only the
first instalments of what is yet to transpire, by
which all the inhabitants of the world shall be
made akin, and their material interests be greatly
44 FIRST CEURCn, ORANOE.
promoted. There are already half-defined prophe-
cies of something greater shortly to follow ; —
possibilities yet slumbering, waiting the touch of a
master hand to evolve them into realities.
The age just at hand is to be one of the most
radical changes in the condition of society, and of
state. Even now there are beginnings of revolu-
tions, for the most part peaceful, which foreshadow
great overturnings, readjustments, and reforms ;
the overthrow of erroneous and effete systems of
legislation and government; and the removal of
the great obstacles to human progress, which have
hitherto stood in the way, like insurmountable bar-
riers. iSTo Ecumenical Council can avail to keep
back the on-rushing tide of popular sentiment
which is setting in the direction of freedom of
thought and action. The Pope and his Cardinals
and Bishops might as well take their stand at low
water upon tlie sandy beach, and endeavor to force
back the sea as it rises higher and higher, and rolls
in farther and farther with every succeeding wave
upon the main-land. N'o barricading of the streets
of the French capital, so as to quell an uprising,
will long preserve the sceptre and throne of the
SERMON. 45
Emperor ISTapoleou, unless he gracefully yields, to
the steru demand of the people, the rights of which
they have been so long defrauded. The questions
of the separation of church and state ; of the right
to popular education ; of participation in the affairs
of government in some form or other by the
people, are already virtually decided. Feudalism,
caste, tyranny and despotism, are soon to become
traditions of the past, rather than present realities.
Labor and capital are seeking a new and more
equitable adjustment of their relations to each
other. The basis of standing in society, and of
reputation among men, is gradually shifting from
that of birth, or wealth, or any of the merely acci-
dental and false grounds of social distinction, to
that of real worth of character and life, such as has
been displayed in one of our own countrymen,
who has so recently departed this life. Of humble
origin, and wholly destitute of any adventitious
circumstances wherewith to win favor and distinc-
tion, he has risen to the highest position of esteem
and admiration among men, by the sheer force of
simple, unpretending goodness in character, and of
the most bountiful and loving liberality to the
46 FIRST CETJBCn, ORANGE.
poor, the ignorant, the suffering, and the down-
trodden. What a contrast to his life, and to the
esteem in which he is held, and what an evidence
also that the mere possession of money cannot buy
the esteem of men, is exhibited in one of his com-
peers in wealth who has recently had the doubtful
compliment paid him of the erection of a magnifi-
cent bronze statue in his honor, the unveiling of
which was made the subject of such burlesque and
ridicule the other day, among those who know him
best, and where he had gained his fortune in large
measure.
iN'or less significant are present indications as to
what the future is to be in its religious aspect. It
always betokens a great advance in the kingdom of
grace, when you find Satan setting up his throne of
power, and actively engaged in rallying liis forces
to fresh onset, and to redoubled exertions for the
overthrow of righteousness. When the Son of God
came to earth, the evil one at once set on foot a
project for his destruction ; and so it was at the
time when he entered upon his public ministry, and
thereafter. Satan was ever on the alert and most
determined in his efforts of opposition to Him, and
SERMON. 47
to His work of grace. When the early church
began to spread itself in every direction, what
fierce persecutions he incited and set in motion, in
order to forestall, and put down, and crush it out
if possible. So has it ever been from that time to
this. He scents danger to his rule among men
from afar, and is quick to ward it ofi" if possible.
What we behold, then, of desperate assault upon
the person and work of our divine Lord, and upon
the written word of Revelation, and upon the
church, by those in league with Satan, and obe-
dient to his dictation, only betokens a movement
already in progress which is destined to result in
highly exalting Him in the esteem of men, and
leading them to enthrone Him in their hearts as
well as over their lives, the Lord of all, as never
before. Even this great assemblage now conven-
ing on the banks of the Tiber for the purpose of
tightening the chains of spiritual bondage, in
which Satan has so long held millions enslaved,
through the instrumentality of a corrupt church,
is most conclusive evidence that these slaves are
threatening to break loose therefrom entirely, and
foreshadows their emancipation as near at hand.
48 FTBST Cmmcn, ORANGE.
What magnificent opportunities, also, are offer-
ing for the spread of the kingdom of Christ, and
for the wide diffusion of His gospel. What facili-
ties also are afforded wherewith to accomplish what
remains to be done to possess the world for Jesus,
by reason of the proximity into which the most
distant nations are brought in relation to each
other, and the action and reaction which they are
having upon one another in every possible way.
The church, too, in its every separate branch, and
throughout its entire membership, is beginning to
awake, to put on its strength, and to gird itself for
the great spiritual warfare which is before it. It is
uniting its scattered and hitherto conflicting bands
around their common standard, the Cross. It is
inspiring itself with new zeal, and faith, and love,
and is proposing to itself magnificent enterprises in
the building up of the Redeemer's kingdom, such
as the men of this world fearlessly undertake for
the advancement of their material interests. It
seems to be unwilling any longer that it should be
said of itself, " the children of this world are wiser
in their generation than the children of light."
It is upon such a future in the world at large,
SERMON. 49
which I have attempted to portray, but which no
words of mine can adequately set forth, that this
church is to enter. And it is a future wherein it
may perform a most important part, and achieve
results which it is given to few to attain. For if
you will now turn your eyes from this broad out-
look upon what is before us, to that which is
nearer at hand and more immediately concerns
this church in time to come, you cannot fail to see
that its opportunities and facilities for service in
Christ's name are, in common with those of its
sister churches in this region, almost unparalleled.
If the great metropolis of which we are in reality,
though not in name, already a part, should con-
tinue to be the grand commercial emporium that
it now is — and nobody dreams of the contrary —
increasing and overflowing from year to year, in
the future as it has done in the past, then we are to
be located in the midst of a dense population, for
the most part intelligent, cultivated, full of busi-
ness energy and skill. It bids fair to be a popula-
tion second to none in the land, for the qualities of
character and action which are needful in the ser-
vice of Christ ; one neither puffed up with pride
50 FIRST CEURCE, ORANGE.
by reason of great wealth, nor swallowed up by the
eddying currents of the whirlpool of fashion, nor
80 extremely select and super-refined in their aris-
tocratic notions that the lowly and humble work to
which the despised Nazarene calls His disciples will
be altogether too much beneath them. There is
no grander field for christian activity than is thus
opening more and more on every hand, right about
us.
Then, too, we are placed near the heart, and not
at the extremities, by our proximity to the chief
city in importance of the western continent. It is
one of the world's great marts for traffic and com-
merce, and the center-point whither men congre-
gate from every land and nationality under the
heavens. Christians here, in their daily contact
with these men, may make their own individual
influence world-wide. A church situated as this
is, and composed of those who, like the early
christians, preach the Word wherever they go, by
pure lives, by loving words of warning and en-
treaty, and by good deeds of mercy and charity,
may make itself felt with mighty power through-
out the length and breadth of the earth. Truly
SERMOK 51
it is — to use the Saviour's own comparison — " a
city that is set on a hill, that cannot be hid."
What ought not a church to be, and to do, which
is thus favorably situated, and has such advantages
and opportunities afforded it for making its power
felt, both here and everywhere throughout the
wide world ? How peremptorily is it called upon
to summon its energies to accomplish its utmost, as
it enters upon another half century of its existence,
at a time like this ! How ought it to be stimulated
to activity when such a glorious era is dawning
upon the world, so full of inspiration to high and
holy endeavor, and lofty and sublime undertaking;
when everything is conspiring to render what the
people of God may do for the upbuilding of the
Redeemer's Kingdom eminently successful ! Espe-
cially, what is there that ought to belong to any
church, that should not characterize our own, in
the future which lies before us ? "What a past
history it has ! What precious legacies of holy
example, triumphant faith, fervent prayer, and
noble achievement! How it has, by these many
years of experience and discipline, become estab-
lished and settled, grown strong and stable, and
52 FIliST CEUBCff, ORANGE.
become toughened in its every fibre, and inured
to endurance, and schooled to patient continu-
ance in well-doing ! Surely none should be suf-
fered to surpass it in the piety of its membership,
their purity of life, their holy zeal, their ardent
devotion, their indomitable energy, their unwa-
vering faith, their willingness to spend and be
spent for Christ, their boldness of undertaking,
their exalted conceptions of what is their high
privilege, their joy and gladness in labor, toil and
self-sacrifice for their Divine Master, in imitation
of His example. ^lay God grant that such a
practical appreciation of the future which is before
this church, and of its great privilege and respon-
sibility in view thereof, as I have set it forth, shall
be another answer which we shall give to the ques-
tion, "What mean ye by this service ?"
III. But we may not stop here. Still further
answer must we give to this query which we have
put to one another. And it relates to the present.
"We are to respond as members of this church in
regard to what we will do, in view of the position
which we now occupy — a position midway be-
SERMON. 53
tween its past and its future. It is no light tiling
to stand where we do to-day. It involves no ordi-
nary responsibility. Not only do we hold in our
hands, and subject to our disposal, what has already
transpired in the history of this church, which is
iitted to be of future service, but we are to deter-
mine what shall transpire in time to come in large
measure. Its ongoing is to be through us who
are now upon the stage of action. "We must do
much, whatever our course of conduct in this
matter may be, to give it shape and direction,
"We have to do with the prayers and labors, the
seed sowing, and the tearful, but patient and hope-
ful watering of the same on the part of God's ser-
vants for a century and a half. It rests with us
whether what has already borne much fruit, but is
capable of bringing forth in years to come mani-
fold more than in those gone by, shall yield yet
more glorious harvests, for the ingathering of the
angel reapers. How sacred the trust committed
tons! How solemn the duty in view thereof !
Especially is this the case, when it seems as if
the very midsummer of the church's history is fast
54 FIRST CHURCH, ORANGE.
approachiug, and eveu now is close at hand. For
no one can for a moment doubt that tlie next half
century of its existence, under the circumstances
which are certain to surround it, may be far richer
in results than any similar period in the past. It
would seem as if this churcli were now about to
enter upon the golden age in its history. And
who of us shall dare to be in the way of the reali-
zation of all that may be reasonably anticipated for
it ? AYho does not see that to be recreant to duty
at such a time as this, is to trifle with the most
sacred of trusts, and with the most inviting and
promising opportunities for the fulfi.lment of what
is reposed in us ? "We cannot be unmindful of
what belongs to us, in view of the position which
we occupy, and neglectful of the duty growing out
of the same, without inflicting a great wrong, both
upon those who have preceded us, into the fruit of
whose labors we enter, and upon those who are to
come after us, over whose interests we at present
have control. It is with us as when an army, con-
tending long and bravely against a powerful and
determined foe, gains substantial advantages, and
SERMON. 55
puts itself in position at last to push the enemy to
the wall, and achieve glorious results ; but finds
that through exhaustion and the decimation of
its ranks by death, it can go no further. Fresh
troops come upon the field, to whom the privilege
is given of taking up what has already been
accomplished by it, and all the advantages which
now lie before it, and make them successful be-
yond what has ever been dreamed of by those who
have hitherto borne the brunt of the conflict.
How momentous the position in which such a
body of soldiers is placed! How important that
they at once, and with their whole energy, spring
to their task, and carry all before them, until vic-
tory be complete, and all its fruits be secured.
But suppose that they do not, and are unmindful
of their position, and of the critical juncture which
they are called to meet. What disgrace, what
burning shame would cover them ! How would
they deserve to have the arms of their own com-
rades who have fought so bravely, turned against
them, and they be driven from the field, where
they have brought such dishonor upon not them-
56 FIRST CnURCH, ORANGE.
selves alone, but upon those whom they should
have covered with glory by causing their efibrts to
be successful, in the attainment of their object.
This church is such an army, and is engaged in
the great warfare with the powers of darkness.
Steadily and persistently, through many years of
conflict, has it waged successful warfare, never
trailing its standard in the dust, never giving way
before the enemy, though ofttimes he has come in
like a flood, until now a point is reached where the
future is bright with promise of the most signal
and sublime results, and the advantages already
obtained are of such a character as to warrant the
expectation that these results may be realized.
But they who have thus manfully struggled, bear-
ing the heat and burden of the day, where are
they ? They have one by one fallen out of their
places, even while fightiug, and with their armor
on, and they sleep in the city of the dead, and their
Bouls have gone to their rest and reward. We
have come forward to take their places. And
shall we fail to meet the present momentous crisis?
Shall we be recreant to duty, when so much is
SERMON. 57
within easy grasp, and everything conspires to
incite endeavor, nerve ns with courage, and fill us
with hope, nay with the most confident expecta-
tion ? Heaven forbid ! "We will not act thus
basely. We will not bring this deepest disgrace
upon ourselves, and upon those into whose labors
we enter, that we may reap the fruits thereof. Be
it rather our determined resolve to accept the trust
which they of the past have given into our hands,
together with all that it brings in the way of
advantage, and in the form of responsibility. Be
it ours to comprehend and deeply appreciate the
significance of the times in which we live, and the
promise of the future just before us. And in view
of both, here and now let us solemnly dedicate
ourselves to Christ, and to the work of promoting
and building up this church, in a manner commen-
surate with our privilege and opportunity. Let us
do this with a fijsedness of purpose that knows no
wavering, and with a loftiness of aim which shall
in no way fall below what the future seems to give
the certainty of attaining. How are we con-
strained to do this, as to-day we stand in the
4
58 FIRST CEURCH, ORANGE.
presence of those who have gone before us in
occupying the places which we now fill ! Though
they have been numbered, some of them long,
with the general assembly of the church of the
First Born on high, yet think you that they are
indifierent spectators from yonder heavenly heights
of what is transpiring here at this very hour ? Are
those who have stood in this pulpit as the messen-
gers of God to dying men, and gone among these
homes caring for the flock of God, as faithful
shepherds, through whose labors in word and doc-
trine this church has been established and made to
flourish; those who have died at their post with
their harness on, and whose memories have been
honored by these monumental inscriptions sacred
thereto ; are they unmindful of what we are now
doing, and of what we here engage that we will
undertake, in view of what lies before us ? I tell
you, nay. These all are as a great cloud of wit-
nesses by which we are compassed about, and they
hold us in full survey. I seem to hear them from
the heavenly heights saying to us, " It was ours to
sow. It is yours to reap. Fail not to do your
SEEMON. 59
appointed work, that both ' he that soweth and he
that reapeth may rejoice together/ in the day of
final ingathering."
The great E'apoleon once sought to in8X3ire his
army with enthusiasm for the task before them,
and nerve them to the highest endeavor, while
fighting in Egypt, within sight of its pyramids, by
shouting to them as they were about to go into
battle, " Soldiers, forty centuries look down upon
you." So may it be said to you, but with greater
significance and more solemn emphasis, and with
far more to inspire and kindle your hearts with
enthusiasm. Men and women of this church, full
five generations look down upon you — not in the
form of speechless monuments of human achieve-
ment, but in the persons of your brethren in
Christ. They are a part of this branch of the
great family of the redeemed, who have crossed
the flood, where they watch with intense interest
the ongoing of what is so dear to them in remem-
brance, and is so closely associated with their own
past history.
How do they of the generations yet to come also
60 FIRST CnURCn, ORANGE.
rise up, and beckon to us with uplifted finger.
They bid us note well the significance of all the
great movements which are transpiring in the
earth, and mark with care what the indications
are respecting the prosperity of our beloved Zion.
They call upon us to see what achievements may
yet be granted through its instrumentality for the
honor of our dear Lord, far surpassing and eclips-
ing all that has ever yet been attained — all of
which may be transmitted to them as their inher-
itance.
"When asked, then, " "What mean ye by this ser-
vice ?" let us, in addition to the answers already
given, with firm resolve and humble dependence
upon Almighty God, and in clear ringing tones,
unitedly reply, we mean the voluntary and abso-
lute consecration of ourselves to the Lord Jesus in
the accomplishment of the great work which He
has given us to perform, as members of this His
church. "VVe here give ourselves, afresh, and with-
out reserve, to be employed in promoting its
advancement, and the honor of our common Lord,
through its instrumentality ; saying to ourselves,
SERMOK
61
as did the Hebrews of old by the rivers of Babylon,
concerning Jerusalem, " If I forget thee, let my
right hand forget her cunning. If I do not remem-
ber thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my
mouth ; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief
joy."
III.
INAUGURATION OF
POKAL TABLET
TO THE
First two Ministers of the Church,
BY
REV. W. HENRY GREEN, D. D.
"The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death,"
" For since by man came death, by man came also
the resurrection of the dead."
II Cor. XV.
ADDRESS
HE word of God declares that the right-
eous shall he in everlasting remem-
^fes™^. hrance, (Psalm cxii: 6,) and the memory
of the just is hlessed, [Prov. x : 7.) Of this we
have an illustration in this large and spontaneous
gathering to commemorate the founding of this
church. A century and more since they have
entered into, their rest and their reward, this whole
community rejoices to do honor to that pious hand
of Christian men and women, to those self-denying
and devoted ministers of Christ, who planted this
church in what was then a wilderness. It is now
in the heart of a populous and thriving commu-
nity— the ahode of civilization and wealth and
refinement — it has grown to fair proportions — it
has sent out its branches on every side — this whole
region is dotted with flourishing churches, the
oifspring of this parent stock. It has a goodly
66 FIRST CETmCE, ORANGE.
history of a ceuturv and a half to look back upon
— a record of the ordinances of religion sustained
and perpetuated in their piirit}- and power through
all that period — a record of a constantly increasing
number of faithful worshippers to honor the name
of Jesus, to exemplify and adorn His gospel, and
to advance His cause and kingdom, — a record of
souls hopefully converted to God, generation after
generation, who have gone successively to swell
the company of the Redeemed above, and who are
now rejoicing in the presence of God and of the
Lamb, — and an ever-widening circle of influence,
which has leavened this whole region, set its stamp
upon its population, given its direction to the cur-
rent of public sentiment, and largely contributed
to make Orange and the country around it what it
is this day. All this we gratefully refer to the
self-denying labors and privations of that godly
people and their faithful pastors, who laid the
foundation of this church of !N"ewark Mountain.
They who painfully watched and nurtured the
feeble germ just sprouting from the earth, might
find it difficult to recognize the giant trunk be-
neath whose spreading branches we are gathered
INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 67
now, with its noble proportions, its pleasing ver-
dure and its refreshing shade.
The good men whose names you have engraved
upon the walls of this church, with a view to their
perpetual remembrance, could they be recalled
from their blissful seats, would not recognize the
work of their own hands. The successive build-
ings which they erected, and in which they wor-
shipped, have long since disappeared ; the voices
which there proclaimed the word of life, and the
voices which were there joined in songs of praise,
have long since been hushed ; the ministers and
their auditors have long been numbered with the
dead ; only scanty notices of them remain, which
antiquarian research has succeeded in gathering
up ; but the results which have flowed from the
beginnings which they here made, are their im-
perishable monument, and this whole generation,
sensible of their indebtedness, rises up and calls
them blessed.
It is very difficult for us to transport ourselves
back to the times in which our fathers lived —
almost as impossible as it would have been for them
to have imaged in advance the condition of things
68 FIRST CmmCH, ORAFGE.
iu which we now are. We must recall the period
when this new continent was as yet unexplored ;
when the primeval forests covered not only regions
more remote, but this very territory all about us
here, except as the few sparse settlers had effected
their partial clearings, and the axe of the wood-
man, and " Harrison's saw-mill," made their in-
roads upon it ; when this was frontier ground ;
when bounties were still offered for the destruction
of wolves, and panthers, and foxes ; when the sav-
age aborigines still held their title to the soil, and
the French and the Indians were forever inspiring
the colonists with fresh terrors of torture or of mas-
sacre ; when, instead of the great empire now built
up on this broad continent, under whose protection
we rejoice and which takes rank with the most
powerful nations of the earth, there were only a
few scattered and feeble settlements ; when New
York was a town of perhaps 7,000 or 8,000 inhab-
itants ; in the very year in which the first Presby-
tevian church was founded in that metropolis of
churches ; six years before the first newspaper was
printed there ; a dozen years before the first stage
line was established between New York and Bos-
INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 69
ton, running once in a month, and occupying four-
teen days in the journey; wlien Kew Jersey was
still under the Proprietary government, and the
grasping demands of these claimants of the soil led
to frequent disturbances on the part of the hardy
settlers ; when the seas were infested by pirates,
and the notorious Capt. Kidd had but recently
been arrested in his murderous career ; when the
entire Presbyterian body in this whole country
could muster but twenty-three ordained ministers,
and three probationers ; — such was the state of
things when the foundation of this church was
laid. How can we return to the present from such
glimpses of the past, without thanking God, and
taking courage !
Several years ago I remember to have looked
through a package of the correspondence of Rev.
Caleb Smith, preserved in the family, but of which
I have now only a very imperfect recollection. I
have, however, in my library, a copy of Poole's
Commentary on the Scriptures, which I frequently
consult, and greatly value for its intrinsic excel-
lence, but which I hold in especial esteem on ac-
count of its history. It is in 2 vols., folio. The title
70 FIRST CmiRCH, ORANGE.
page of each volume, with a few pages at the begin-
ning and the end, have been torn or worn away,
though the volumes are otherwise in perfect pre-
servation. I cannot, therefore, determine the year
of their publication ; but it contains a family record
of three successive generations. The second family
whose history is here traced, is that of Rev. Caleb
Smith, the second pastor of this church. The date
of his own birth, that of his marriage, and the
births of his several children, are therein clearly
and legibly noted by his own hand. I may men-
tion that these dates, which are unquestionably
authentic, while corroborating in the main the
figures given by your late pastor, the Rev. Mr.
Hoyt, in his very full and accurate history of this
church, suggest a slight amendment in one par-
ticular. Rev. Mr. Smith was married one year
earlier than is stated by Mr. Hoyt — September 7,
1748, O. S. ; (and not September, 1749.) So slight
a correction would scarcely be worth referring to,
except as it destroys some of the romance which in
the admirable history of this church before men-
tioned, is gathered about the young minister then
recently settled in this parish, and his frequent
mATIGUBAL ADDRESS. 71
visits upon a tender errand to Elizabethtown — the
home of Miss Martha Dickinson — while the par-
sonage was in the course of construction by the
considerate people of his charge. I am sorry to
mar this pleasing picture, hut historic truth obliges
me to say that Mr. Smith was already married at
the time of his settlement, and the special occasion
for visits of the kind referred to was therefore
past.
Another consideration which obliges me to
insist upon the correction of this error, trifling as
it seems, is that Mr. Smith's eldest daughter Anna,
from whom I claim the honor of being descended,
if she was ever born at all, was born before Sep-
tember, 1749. So that this unfortunate mistake
would have the efiect of rendering her existence
purely mythical, if not of entirely annihilating the
entire body of her descendants ; a misfortune to
which we cannot be expected tamely to' submit.
This venerable Commentary of which I have
spoken, no doubt had its place in the pastor's
study, in the new parsonage, and contributed its
share to his instructions and his expositions of
Scripture, during his entire pastorate.
72 FIRST CHURCH, ORANGE.
Before they came into the possession of Rev.
Mr. Smith, these volumes had been owned by his
father-in-hiw, Rev. Mr, Dickinson, of Elizabeth-
town. Mr. Smith, soon after his graduation at
Yale College, came, at Mr. Dickinson's invitation,
to assist him iu teaching his classical school, the
germ of the College of New Jersey. "W^hile there
he studied theology, and was licensed by the
Presbytery of New York. His acceptability as
a preacher is shown by the fact of his receiving
calls from a number of difierent churches, among
which he concluded to accept that which was ten-
dered to him from this church. lie was accord-
ingly settled here, in November, 1748, bringing
with him, as his wife, Mr. Dickinson's youngest
daughter, to whom he had been married two
months before, and who is represented to have
been a lady of rare excellence.
According to the family record to which I have
already several times referred, Mr. Dickinson had
eight children. The seventh, his daughter Mary,
was born in October, 1722, and baptised by Mr.
"Webb. The readers of Mr. Hoyt's history will
recognize this as the name of the minister, whom
INAUGUBAL ADDRESS. 73
an incorrect tradition makes to have been the pre-
decessor of Rev. Mr. Taylor as the pastor of this
church, but who was really settled over the church
in IlTewark, though he may have occasionally sup-
plied this church before they obtained the services
of a regular pastor; and who was subsequently
drowned, together with his son, while crossing the
Connecticut river at Saybrook.
Mr. Dickinson's youngest daughter, Martha, the
future Mrs. Smith, was born in May, 1726, and
baptised the same day, by Mr. Jedediah Andrews,
the first Presbyterian minister ever settled in Phil-
adelphia,
Of Rev. Daniel Taylor, the first pastor of this
church, I know nothing beyond what is stated
in Mr. Hoyt's history, with which you are all
familiar. His ministry carries us back to the
formative period of this congregation, when its
ecclesiastical organization even had not been deter-
mined. It seems to have been first congregational.
When, or under what influences, it became finally
Presbyterian, is not certainly known. It might
help to clear up some doubtful or disputed points
5
74 FIRST CEURCE, OEANGE.
ill the ecclesiastical history of this region, if this
could be satisfactorily ascertained. But there are
no contemporaneous records to lend us a clue in
this matter, and it must remain enveloped in ob-
scurity.
"We know, at all events, that Rev. Caleb Smith
was a Presbyterian ; that he was installed here by
the Presbytery of New York ; and that from that
time forth, if never before, this church was em-
braced in the Presbyterian connection.
The schism in the Presbyterian church, which
led to the formation of the Synod of New York by
ministers who withdrew from the Synod of Phila-
delphia, had taken place but three years before the
settlement of Rev. Mr. Smith in this place. At
the very next meeting of the Synod of New York,
in May, 1749, a motion was offered, and prevailed,
to make proposals of union to the Synod of Phila-
delphia, and to appoint delegates to wait upon the
Synod of Philadelphia with these proposals. Ne-
gotiations were carried on between the two Synods
for several years. At length, in the autumn of
1756, the Synod of New York appointed a com-
INAUGUBAL ADDRESS. 75
mittee, of which Rev. Caleb Smith was one, to
meet with a similar committee from the Synod of
Philadelphia, to fix upon a proper plan of union,
to be laid before each Synod at their next meeting.
This plan was drawn up, submitted to the two
Synods, accepted by them, and the United Synod
of New York and Philadelphia met in the city of
Philadelphia, in May, 1758. It is a pleasing omen
in connection with your anniversary celebration,
that a like union, only on a far larger scale, has
just been effected between the two great Presbyte-
rian bodies in this land ; and that next May will
witness the assembling, in the city of Brotherly
Love, not of a united Synod of six or seven Pres-
byteries, and sixty or seventy ministers, but a
united General Assembly of more than two hun-
dred and fifty Presbyteries, and four thousand
ministers.
I find the name of Mr. Smith upon several im-
portant committees, appointed at difl[erent times
by the Synod; e.g., to prepare a plan respecting
a fund for the support of ministers' widows and
orphans ; to examine needy candidates for the min-
76 FIRST CHURCH, ORANGE.
istry ; to prepare an address to the commander-in-
chief of all his majesty's forces. Once it is as the
Commission of the Synod of New York, empow-
ered to sit in the intervals of the regular session, to
transact Synodical business ; and once as the Com-
mission of the Synod of New York and Philadel-
phia. And all his pacific qualities, for which he
was distinguished, were brought into requisition
by his being placed on a committee to appease the
strife which had broken out in the refractory
church in New York city, with its discordant
elements, and which gave the Synod a world of
trouble, coming up by complaint on reference year
after year. One grievance related to Psalmody ;
part of the congregation being wedded to Rouse,
and another part preferring Watts, the first edi-
tion of whose Psalms, I may remark, was pub-
lished in London one hundred and fifty years ago,
the very year that this church was founded. Ano-
ther related to the singing of anthems in church,
which greatly offended the consciences of some
good people. Another cause of complaint was,
that their minister offered prayer at funerals, when
INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 77
solicited by the relatives of the deceased to do so,
and this they thought smacked of popery. Ano-
ther was, that some of them thought it unpresby-
terian that the property of the church should be
held by trustees, instead of being committed to the
deacons. All which goes to show that there were
impracticable people then, as now ; and if the com-
mittee sent to quiet the matter succeeded in so
doing, they must have had occasion for all their
arts of pacification.
It may also be interesting to note that the
Synod, in 1751, enjoined upon all their churches
to take up an annual collection for the purpose of
propagating the gospel among the heathen ; and it
appears from the minutes of the succeeding meet-
ing of Synod, that this church, as well as others,
did take up the required collection ; and the sum
so raised was put into the hands of Eev. John
Brainerd, for the support of missions among the
Indians, chiefly in New Jersey and in Eastern
Pennsylvania. It would be curious to know what
was the amount of this early collection for the
cause of missions. Mr. Smith's lively interest in
78 FIRST cnxmcn, orange.
the spread of tlie Gospel among the unevangelizecl,
may be iDferred from his uniting with a number of
other ministers, in this country and in Scotland, in
a weekly and a quarterly concert of prayer for this
end.
But it would be unpardonable in me not to
refer to Mr. Smith's connection with the college
of New Jersey, of which he was a trustee from
1750 till his death, in 1762; for a brief time its
acting President ; and always its ardent and de-
voted friend. With a brief account of this matter,
I shall close these desultory remarks, already too
protracted.
The first charter of the College of New Jersey
dated from the year 1746. It was actually organ-
ized in May, 1747. Rev. Mr. Dickinson, of Eliza-
bethtown, was its first President; and as Mr.
Smith was engaged as his assistant, he may be
styled the first usher or tutor in the college. Upon
the death of Mr. Dickinson, within the brief period
of four months after the organization of the col-
lege, it was removed to Newark, and placed under
the presidency of Rev. Aaron Burr, pastor of the
INAUGUEAL ADDRESS. 79
churcli in that place. The first Commencement
was held in the ITewark meeting-house, when a
class of six graduated ; one of the members being
Hon, Richard Stockton, Chief Justice of the State
of New Jersey, a member of the Continental Con-
gress, and a signer of the Declaration of Indepen-
dence. The second in iSTew Brunswick. The sub-
sequent Commencements in I^ewark, generally in
the Court House, until 1756. After which it was
removed to Princeton, to the new edifice erected
for it, named after "William, Prince of Orange,
IlTassau Hall.
President Burr dying two days before the first
Commencement in Princeton, Rev. Caleb Smith
preached his funeral sermon, by appointment of
the Board of Trustees ; a discourse which was sub-
sequently published at their request. Jonathan
Edwards being chosen Mr. Burr's successor, Mr.
Smith and John Brainerd were, by vote of trustees
of the college, requested to go to Stockbridge, to
attend the ecclesiastical council to convene relative
to his dismission, with the view of obtaining his
release from the Indian congregation to which he
80 FIRST CETIRCIl ORANGE.
was at that time ministering. The untimely death
of Mr. Edwards, which occurred about two months
after he reached Princeton, left the college once
more without a head. A President was accord,
ingly chosen, and Mr. Smith placed upon the com-
mittee to make arrangements for his removal.
Meanwhile Mr. Smith was himself appointed to act
as President of the college until the next meeting
of the Trustees. At that meeting, it appearing
that the President elect had declined, Mr. Smith
was requested to continue to preside in the college
until the next annual Commencement, and to con-
fer the degrees upon the candidates. The Presi-
dency of the college at that time involved not only
giving instruction, and the oversight of the institu-
tion, but preaching in the college chapel, which
was the only place of public worship in Princeton,
and was accordingly attended by the inhabitants of
the town, and the pews rented to occupants as in
other churches. During this time Mr. Smith con-
tinued to preach one Sabbath in four in his own
charge ; and the Synod directed the Presbytery of
New Brunswick to assist, to their utmost, in sup-
INAUGUBAL ADDRESS. 81
plying his congregation. The choice of the Trus-
tees next fell upon Mr. Samuel Davies, who first
declined, but afterward accepted the appointment ;
this favorable result being largely due, as it would
appear, to the personal influence of Mr. Smith,
who was upon the committee to secure his accept-
ance and arrange for his removal.
As an indication of the large and comprehensive
views which were at that time entertained regard-
ing education and educational institutions, and the
schemes which were projected for their elevation
and improvement, it is deserving of mention that
Mr. Smith presented to the Trustees a plan of
union among the several colleges in the American
Provinces, which had been drawn up by President
Clap, of Yale College. No action was taken upon
this paper at the time, or subsequently, so far as
is known. But I may say that this suggestion
was recently renewed by President McCosh, of
Princeton, in his inaugural address. I now quote
the words of Dr. McCosh : " I have sometimes
thought that, as Oxford University combines some
twenty-two colleges, and Cambridge eighteen, so
82 FIRST CmiRCn, ORANGE.
tlicre might in this country be a combination of
colleges in one university. * * * Some such
combination as this, while it would promote a
wholesome rivalry among the colleges, would at
the same time keep up the standard of erudition.
Another benefit would arise : the examination of
candidates being conducted, not by those who
taught them, but by elected examiners, \vould give
a high and catholic tone to the teaching in the col-
leges." There is no doubt that if this were prac-
ticable, valuable and important ends would be
accomplished by it.
I have said enough to show that Mr. Smith
yielded to none in his interest in the cause of
education generally, and in his devotion to the
welfare of the College of New Jersey, which was
the child of the Synod, cherished by the whole
body of the Presbyterian church, and whose name,
without being exclusive or sectarian, has ever been
identified with sound learning and with staunch
Presbyterianism.
MURAL TABLET. 83
ERECTED NOV, 24, 1869,
TO THE JIEMORT OF
The FIRST TWO Ministers of this Parish
REV° DANIEL TAYLOR
His death, Jany 8, 1747-8,
at the age of 56,
Closed a pastorate of about 25 years.
REV° CALEB SMITH
Ordained and installed J^ov. 30, 1748,
Died Oct. 22, 1762,
Aged 39.
Their remains await the resurrection amovq
those of their flock in the
Parish hurying-place.
IV.
HISTO^IC^L DISCOUK'
BY
REV. E. H. GILLETT, D. D.
" This shall be written for the generation to come ;
and the people which shall be created shall praise the
Lord."
Psalm cii: 18.
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE.
'HE life of an institution is not necessarily
like that of a man, bounded by a period
of three-score years and ten. If, like a
local cliurcli, it has in it the elements of permanence,
if its roots strike deep into the soil of social sym-
pathy, if it is forever assimilating to itself the
materials around it, it may endure for ages. It
may see generations after generations pass away,
and the moss gather on their grave-stones : it may
look down on changes of dynasties and govern-
ments : it may witness social and civil revolutions,
forever young and fresh, while the hamlet becomes
a village, and the village a city ; while the grandest
structures of human art crumble to decay, and the
records of centuries moulder back to dust.
To stand by the side of such an institution, and
to look up at it, is to invoke sacred memories of
88 HISTORICAL DISCOURSE.
the past. And this is our position now. More
than four successive generations, that have wor-
shipped here, have passed away, and we gather, as
it were, over their dust, to commemorate the
progress and review the history of what they
planted and cherished ; and under the shadow of
this tree of centuries we look upward and around
us, not to the spectacle of dead branches and
withered leaves, but of freshness and vigor and
verdure that have outworn decay.
One hundred and fifty years ago ! The Presby-
terian church in this land was then a feeble
sapling, with uncertain prospects before it. It
numbered about twenty-six ministers, and possibly
some forty feeble churches. But there were those
among its pastors then that have left behind them
memorable names. James Anderson, just settled
at New York, of whom the historian Wodrow,
correspondent of Colman and the Mathers, speaks
as " my old acquaintance," — Pumroy, of Newtown,
Long Island, whose son, in the Great Revival of
1740, was a friend of Whitefield, and a co-laborer
with Wheelock and Bellamy, — John Thompson, of
Lewes, Delaware, subsequently the leading member
FIRST CHURCH, ORANGE. 89
of what was known as tlie "Old Side," — Pierson,
of Woodbridge, where he had labored for two years,
the third in a line of ministers worthily held in
high honor, — Robert Cross, just settled at ITewcas-
tle, Delaware, but subsequently destined to larger
usefulness at Jamaica, Long Island, and Philadel-
phia,— William Tennent, the patriarch of l^esham-
iny, the father of a ministerial household, who
were to make the name famous to after centuries ;
and among others, if last not least, " the great Mr.
Dickinson," Jonathan Dickinson of Elizabethtown,
a man who, by his rare gifts and graces, his learning
and wisdom, was facile princeps among his brethren,
and who was for his time the leading champion
against the claims of a High Church Episcopacy,
trusted and honored alike in his own field, in 'New
England and in Scotland.
Into association more or less intimate with such
men came Daniel Taylor, the first pastor of the
church of N'ewark Mountains, some four or five
years after the church was gathered. To Dickin-
son, especially, possessed of a kindred spirit and of
the same political sympathies, he must have been
strongly drawn. Both men combatted the claims
90 FIRST CnURCn, OliANGE.
of the Proprietors, Tvho made nothing of Indian
deeds, and asserted rights of property which were
accounted unwarranted and oppressive. Each was
in more than an ecclesiastical sense the leader of
his people, and each was an honored representative
of popular rights. Dickinson died October 12,
1747, and Taylor was spared for his work less than
three months longer.
If, as has been supposed, the organization of the
church of Newark Mountains was helped forward
by dissatisfaction with the Presbyterian sympathy
or connection of the mother church of N'ewark,
events had already occurred which tended to unite
them in kindlier feeling. In 1738, Aaron Burr
was settled at Newark, and iu the following year
his labors were crowned with a powerful revival.
Undoubtedly its influence extended to the church
of Orange, and all questions of ecclesiastical sym-
pathy were overruled by the questions which it
excited. The " great work of God," as men like
Edwards and "Wheelock termed it, had commenced,
and it was destined to sweep with irresistible power
throughout the bounds of the American churches.
Denominational lines were now of but small ac-
mSTORIGAL DISCOURSE. 91
count. The division in the Middle States, as in
New England, was between the friends and the
opponents of the revival. Then came Gilbert Ten-
nent's Nottingham Sermon, and stormy sessions of
the Synod, protests and counter protests, till the
Old Side and the New Side drew apart in the
division of 1741. Then the New Brunswick Pres-
bytery became the champion of the new religious
movement, and responded to the calls of Con-
necticut churches, that favored the revival, to sup-
ply their pulpits. Then came the persecuting
Connecticut laws of 1742, by which young Finley,
subsequently President of the College at Prince-
ton, was arrested, and sent as a vagrant beyond the
limits of the colony ; laws which forbade David
Brainerd to show his face at New Haven for fear
of imprisonment ; laws which dogged the steps of
many a minister, and virtually silenced him ; laws
which sent several of the most devout and fervent
pastors of Connecticut out of the colony, to find,
within the bounds of the Presbyterian church, a
freedom that they could not hope to enjoy under
the shadow of a church trammeled by the State.*
* At this point the speaker quoted from the " Historical
9a FIRST CnURCH, ORANGE.
la such circumstances, men who might other-
wise have lived and died Congregationalists, could
remain such no longer. They became exiles from
their former homes, that under the Presbyterian
system they might enjoy a freedom which could
not be allowed them as pastors of Connecticut
churches. Into this region they came, and met a
hearty welcome. There was no State church here.
There were no ecclesiastical laws, made by the
civil authority, to interfere with the free discharge
of their duties, and they gladly accepted the privi-
leges which were offered here by the friends of the
Sketch of Religious Liberty in Connecticut," (His. Magazine,
July 1868, pp. 9, 10,) as follows :
"In the diary of David Brainerd, for September 1742, we find
that he had preached for the Separatist Church, organized in
New Haven in the preceding May, (5th) by Jost>i:)h Bellamy,
Samuel Cooke, John Graham, and Elisha Kent. For this, he
was informed that the civil authorities were seeking an oppor-
tunity to arrest and imprison him. He desired to meet his
friends at New Haven, but he dared only to venture to the
house of an acquaintance at a distance from the town. * * *
Thomas Lewis was a fellow student of Brainerd, graduating at
Yale College in 1741. For him, zealous in the cause of the
revival, there was no toleration within the bounds of Con-
necticut ; and like Davenport, Symmes, Allen and others. New
HISTORICAL DISCOTJBSE. 93
revival, and under an ecclesiastical system which
secured supervision of the churches without the aid
of Governors or sheriffs.
It was thus, that whenever the question of eccle-
siastical connection or sympathy was raised, the
Congregationalism of Connecticut, leaning on State
patronage and support, represented church bond-
age; and the Presbyterian system, independent of
State aid or supervision, represented at once eccle-
siastical liberty and sympathy with the revival.
In such circumstances there could be no question
on what side men like "Webb and the Brainerds,
Jersey furnisliecl him a refuge, and in 1747 lie was settled at
Bethlehem in that province. * h: *
" He could not comjjlain of the character of those that suffered
with him. A few months before, Samuel Finley, subsequently
President of Princeton College, was sent by the Presbytery of
New Brunswick to supply the churches formed at Milford and
New Haven, which had put themselves under their care. For
preaching at Milford, he was arrested and sent out of the
Government as a vagrant. He returned and i^reached at New
Haven, for which he was seized at the meeting house door, on
Lord's day morning, and carried away by an officer. He re-
turned again, and preached to the people. This is said to
have induced the Legislature to enact tliat any minister who
should do the like, should be imprisoned till he gave a bond in
one himdred poimds not to do so again."
04 FIRST CnURCH, ORANGE.
Dickinson, Pierson, and doubtless we may add
Taylor of Orange, long before liis death, would be
found. A wonderful Providence had made ques-
tions of mere church order or organization seem of
small importance, and a Congregational zealot of
that day would have seemed as much out of place
here as a swallow in January. It is only at a later
period that Jacob Green, of Hanover, perhaps the
first man on the continent that called himself an
Edwardian^ chose to take a position outside the
pale of the Presbyterian church, there however to
organize a new Presbytery on the voluntary prin-
ciple, and assume the privilege, which the Synod
denied, of sending others beside liberally educated
men to work in the great field, whitening to the
harvest. Seventeen years the division of the Old
and New Side continued. In 1758 the parted
streams mingled once more in a common current.
Daniel Taylor had gone to his rest ; and Caleb
Smith, a young licentiate, and a theological pupil
of Jonathan Dickinson, was called (1748) to suc-
ceed him. For ten j'cars previous to the reunion
he was pastor at Orange, and doubtless was in full
sympathy with the eftbrts that brought it about.
HISTOBICAL mSCOUBSB. 95
With him a new generation of ministers appears
upon the stage. The church at large has rapidly
increased. The ministry has multiplied, in forty
years, nearly four-fold, and the churches doubtless
in like proportion. The missionary spirit of the
church has gone forth to new, larger, and more
distant fields. McWhorter, of Newark, has tra-
versed Virginia and the Carolinas on preaching
tours. The saintly Brainerd, at the forks of the
Delaware, has illustrated the triumphant power of
the Gospel over savage nature, and has prayed,
and wept, and preached, and worn out his feeble
strength, in his apostolic work. Scarcely his infe-
rior in devotion, his brother John, stationed for a
time at Newark, has traversed the New Jersey
Pines, and carried the Gospel to almost every
heathen neighborhood. Ere long, Spencer, of
Elizabeth town and Trenton, with a mind worthy
of a statesman, and a heart large enough to take to
its sympathy the largest plans of Christian eflbrt ;
Beatty, on whose shoulders fell the mantle of the
Patriarch of Neshaminy, and whose pioneer labors
extended to the far-off banks of the Ohio ; Duffield,
his worthy compeer, resolute, unflinching, daring
96 FIRST CnURCn, ORANGE.
to speak the boldest words which a Christian
patriot might speak ; these, and many more,
worthy to be associated with them, appear on the
scene, gracing the missionary annals of the church
with records of which their honored descendants
may well be proud. Nor, at this juncture, should
such names be forgotten as those of John Rodgers,
the friend of "Whitefield, transplanted from the
Southern field to New York, where he lived to lay
his hand upon the head of one (Dr. Spring) whose
long' protracted pastorate links the generation of a
century ago to ours ; President Davies, the Vir-
ginian Apostle, a model of pulpit eloquence, com-
manding the admiration of lawyers in the courts
where he appeared to plead the rights of Virginia
" Dissenters," and extorting applause from the
critical hearers of the old world where he urged
the claims of sacred learning, and collected the
means to endow Princeton College ; the Finleys,
combining scholarship with piety, and giving point
to the contrast drawn by the great Dr. Mason
between the death-bed of the believer and that of
the skeptic ; Bostwick, of New York, challenging
from the historian Smith a tribute to his eloquence;
HISTORICAL DISCOUHSE. 97
Francis Alison, the most thorougli scholar of the
day, whose plea for reuniou in 1758, recently
republished, is inferior in force of argument and
fervor of eloquence to no similar production of
this recent period ; Samuel Buell, of Easthamp-
ton, L. I., a friend of Edwards and Hopkins,
Whose appeals could melt a listening assembly to
tears, and whose wit could disarm even Tory inso-
lence. And even with such a list, we must pas8
over many with whom the second pastor of this
church came in contact, and whose features and
characters were photographed upon his memory,
and treasured in his heart.
But at the early age of thirty-eight he was called
away by death ; and in 1766, after a vacancy of
three or four years, he was succeeded by a man
whose name has gone forth far and wide, and
whose just fame is limited by no parish bounds.
This man was Jedediah Chapman, doubtless a
pupil of Dr. Bellamy, and one who was destined
in another sphere to lay the foundations of many
generations.
The period of his ministry here, extending to
the opening of the present century, is eventful in
98 FIRST CHURCH, ORANOE.
the history of the clmrcli and world at large. It
began at the very time when the United Conven-
tion of Presbj'terians and Congragationalists was
formed to counteract the project of leading Episco-
palians to impose Bishops on the Colonies, with or
without the authority of Parliament. It closed
when the plan of union between the two denomi-
nations, that was intended to harmonize them on
the great Mission Field at the West, was about to
take effect. It began almost at the same time that
the Stamp Act produced a revolutionary ferment
throuiijhout the land. It closed when the thrones
of Europe were shaking with the echoes of French
cannons, and at the tramp of Napoleon's legions.
It covered the period of our revolutionary struggle,
and of the terrible revolution of France. It was
characterized by national convulsions, the inroads
of infidelity and error, and the outbreak of the
powerful revivals in the South and "West.
To events and scenes like these, the pastor of this
church could not have been indifferent. Doubtless
many a time the attention of his Sabbath audience
was divided between his words, and the echo of the
enemy's cannon, rolled back from these neighbor-
HISTOBIGAL DISCOURSE. 99
iog mountains. Many a time, doubtless, the con-
gregation met on one Sabbath, uncertain whether
the next should iiiul them gathered beneath the
sacred roof, or scattered as fugitives from their
desolate or plundered homes. The proximity of
the enemy at New York must have been a constant
terror. IIow precious must have been the truth
which in such times pointed them to God as their
refuge and strength, or directed their trembling
faith to the Rock of Ages ! Then indeed the
sanctuary was precious to them. Here the prayer
of burdened souls, trembling at once for the liberty
of the country and the Ark of God, went up to
heaven. Ilere the faithful pastor, loyal to God and
his country, inspired hope amid the thickening
gloom, by the words of the divine promise.
Hunted out himself by special malignity, and
forced to flee for his life, with what power must
his accents have fallen on the ears of those who
knew his danger, and under the sense of what
impending risks he spoke !
But another class of events soon claimed his
attention. The Presbyterian Church, with the
close of the war, was summoned to a survey of the
100 FIRST CHURCH, ORANGE.
desolations that had been wrought, and called not
only to rebuild the old wastes, but to enter upon
new fields. Almost contemporary with the organ-
ization of the Federal Government, the General
Assembly w^as constituted, and the Presbyterian
Church was equipped, none too early, for a work
that would tax all its energies. Population was
rolling its vast tide westward. The nuclei of
churches w^ere gatherino; in the wilderness. There
was need of experienced and judicious men to
shape the social elements of new regions, and after
a ministry longer than falls to the lot of most men,
Mr. Chapman was summoned by the voice of the
Church to remove to a frontier post in the State of
New York. Here for twelve years the patriarch
toiled on, and the voice that had been heard here
amid scenes of peace and scenes of conflict, was to
speak the counsels of wisdom to the young min-
istry that gathered around him.
The pastor who succeeded Mr. Chapman was so
intimately associated with the leading ministers of
the church, and important events connected with
it, that his life becomes largely a part of its history.
He studied theology under Dr. Buell, the friend of
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 101
Edwards, completing his course under Dr. Living-
ston, of ]!Tew York, the first theological professor,
and one of the Fathers of the Eeformed (Dutch)
Church. Ilis attainments, character and position,
commanded respect, and the list of his intimate
friendships would bring up such names as those of
Griffin and Richards, Perrine and Armstrong, and
scores of others, some of whom linger yet among
us, venerable in usefulness as in years. But Mr.
Ilillyer came not inexperienced into this field. He
had endured hardness as a pioneer missionary.
"With his own eyes he had looked upon the fields
white for the harvest. He had traversed the
forests of Central New York, and entered fully
into the missionary spirit of the era that opened
with the century.
What a change was he spared to witness ! The
single Synod of 1786, when he began his ministry
at Madison, had grown to a General Assembly with
many Synods. The membership of the church had
increased from perhaps fifteen or twenty thousand
to between two and three hundred thousand.
"Within ten years after his settlement here, Prince-
102 FTitsT cnmtcn, orange.
ton Seminary was established, and it had to the end
no firmer friend than he. A few years later Auburn
• was founded. And how his heart must have
glowed to hear of the Union Theological Seminary
in Virginia, Marysville in Tennessee, Allegheny at
Pittsburg, Lane at Cincinnati, Union at New York
— until whole States, that were a wilderness when
he came here, had become the strongholds of the
Presbyterian church.
In the grand movement that helped all this for-
ward he took a leading part, and he had, moreover,
his share of burden and trial. It might seem as if
the rage of partisan feeling or prejudice might
have spared one as inoffensive and gentle as Hill-
yer, but amid the recriminations of that period,
when the imputation of sympathy with New Eng-
land theology sufiiced in some quarters to condemn
a man, even Ilillyer was marked for reprobation.
It is instructive now, though perhaps not very
entertaining, to go back to those days when the
now venerable Dr. Spring was accounted a heretic,
and only received to the Presbytery in the confi-
dence that, if gently dealt with, he would be
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 103
brought to entertain sounder views, or in part by
the bold and generous declaration of Dr. Miller,
"you may reject that young man, if you see fit,
but in condemning him, you will condemn me;"
to those days when the Rev. (Dr.) Ely published
his contrast between Calvinism~and Hopkinsianism,
and Dr. McLeod gave evening lectures to his
people to fortify them against the terrible heresy
implied in the latter; to those days when the
writer of the " Triangle," lighted up with wit and
sprightliness all the obscure inconsistencies that he
thought he could detect in ultra Calvinism, and the
Young Men's Missionary Society, of New York,
was rent in twain on the question of commissioning
Rev. (Dr.) Cox, whom the Presbytery of Philadel-
phia had counted unsound in the faith. But it is
instructive, at least, now that the stormy partizan-
ship of the time has passed by, to see how good
men misapprehended one another, and to note how
on both sides were found names that divide about
^equally our respect.
From a contemporary publication, (Historical
Sketch of Opinions on the Atonement, 1817,) a
104 FIRST CHUIiCn, ORANGE.
goodly octavo volume, I quote as follows : " Error
spreads, and the great interests of the Redeemer's
kingdom are compromised. Gentle measures have
been tried, and have failed. It may be thought
the Theological Seminary will correct the evil, and
no doubt it will counteract the operations of error-
ists; but its progress will be slow; and it is even
possible the Ilopkinsians may obtain its direction,
for an unwise policy, called peaceful, has already
given Mr. Spring, Dr. Richards, and Mr. Hillyer a
seat in the board."
Such was the published estimate, at that date, of
Dr. Ilillycr, and yet through all the bitter strifes of
twenty years later — with the exception of a single
year — he retained his seat in the Seminary board.
Sadly must he have felt the alienations and sus-
picions of the period of the division of the Presby-
terian church, and gladly would he have welcomed
the era of peace and union that has dawned at last.
But with all the clouds that gathered over and
around him, he was not left without more than the
consolations of a peaceful conscience. lie lived to
note the growth and extension of the church in this
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 105
and in otlier lands. lie saw the introduction of
Sabbatli Schools. lie participated in the formation
of Bible, Missionary, and Tract Societies, the glory
of the age. lie was rewarded by witnessing revival
after revival, which gathered harvests of souls into
the church over which he watched with such devo-
tion and fidelity.
The close of Dr. Ilillyer's ministry brings us
down to a period within the memory of those who
yet survive, and who can recall his farewell words
and counsels of peace. Of his immediate succes-
sors, White and Iloyt, the memory of many of you
keeps a fuller and fresher record than can be traced
by the pen. The last-named of these was my class-
mate and friend, and in his unassuming manner,
sound sense, thorough scholarship, and devoted
piety, it was always safe to confide. I might pay a
warmer tribute to his worth, if I was at liberty to
open the record of personal afflictions and private
sympathies.
We have now passed hastily through the succes-
sive stories of the historical structure with which
this church is identified. TVe have simply caught
7
106 FIRST CEURCE, ORANGE.
glimpses, as we have looked forth from the win-
dows, of the scenes on which the generations gazed
that have passed on before us. Shall we not now
jro and look to the east and to the west, to the
period that preceded the founding of the church,
and to that future that expands dimly but grandly
over our horizon ?
Surely one cannot walk along the crest of these
three last half centuries, without pausing at either
end, and regarding the contrast which a view from
each presents. The founders of this church stood
in immediate proximity to scenes and events of
deepest interest in Presbyterian history. Less than
a half century before, New York was a Dutch
colony, and on the whole Atlantic slope, Presbyte-
rianism had scarcely a foothold or a name. Con-
gregationalism— with a leaven of Presbyterianism,
represented by such names as Colman and Stod-
dard, and the father of the elder Edwards — was the
established church in Massachusetts and Connecti-
cut. Episcopalians and Quakers, and a few scat-
tered Baptist churches, were asking for a measure
of toleration that would exempt them from the
mSTORICAL DISCOURSE. 107
society or town tax for the support of ministers on
whose services thej did not find it edifying to
attend. By a stretch of usurpation, Lord Corn-
bury, vieing with the bigotry of the Stuarts, had
secured in New York the state establishment of
the Episcopal church. He had thrown into a E'ew
York prison — and kept him there for weeks,
releasing him only on the payment of exorbitant
costs — Francis Makemie, the Father of the Amer-
ican Presbyterian church ; and he had done this for
the mere crime — with which he was charged — of
preaching a Presbyterian sermon in a private house
in Pearl street. At Jamaica, L. L, he had thrust
out the Presbyterian minister, to make room for
an Episcopal incumbent, with no better right than
the authority of bayonets. Among the founders of
the Orange church there must have been some few,
at least, on whose memories outrages like these
had left a deep and still vivid impression, and who
needed not to go to the Old World to find how
little religious liberty was understood or practiced
by men in power, even on this continent.
But almost as fresh, too, on the page of memory,
108 FIRST CHURCH, ORANGE.
were traced the leading facts of that more than
romantic, that terribly tragic story which for nearly
two consecutive generations had constituted the
record of Presbyterianism in Scotland and Ireland.
The founders of this church may well have con-
versed with those who shared the siege of Derry,
or listened to battle songs or gospel messages,
" By Cameron thundered, or by Renwick poured
In sweetest strain."
It can scarcely be, that in their childhood some of
them had not heard the story of bloody Claver-
house and his dragoons ; or of Richard Baxter
arraigned, to be insulted by the monster Jeffries
for deeds of Christian service for which we honor
him; or of English prisons filled with men like
Joseph Alleine, or John Bunyan, of whom the
world was not worthy ; while the caustic but well-
dissembled irony of Defoe's "Shortest way with
the Dissenters," and the unreasoning bigotry and
excitement that characterized the period of the
trial of Sachevernell, and the national convulsion
that resulted from the attempt to restore the Stu-
HISTOBICAL DISCOURSE. 109
arts to the Euglisli throne, were things of yester-
day. If we could have seated ourselves by the
fireside of the more intelligent and thoughtful of
the men who first stood forth here to profess them-
selves the Lord's freemen, we might have heard
them speaking now of the victories of the great
Marlborough, and now of the Indian wars at the
North and the South, and still again of Presbyte-
rian exiles from Ireland seeking a refuge on these
shores, and the probabilities that attempts would
be made here to deprive them of their religious
rights. Perhaps the conversation turns on Corn-
bury's iniquities, and the vain attempt of the Pres-
byterians of New York city to secure themselves
a charter of incorporation, in which they were
opposed and defeated by Trinity Church ; and per-
haps they expressed no idle or shallow fear that the
time might come when ecclesiastical usurpation
would reach its long arm across the ocean, and lord
it over the consciences of men who had hoped to
find a safe asylum here. However this may be,
nearly one hundred years before Connecticut laws
allowed equal liberty to all sects, and more than
110 FIUST CIIUECn, ORANOE.
that, before Massachusetts adopted the principle,
these fathers of the Orange church, inheriting the
principle for which the Scottish martyrs before all
others had suffered and contended, that every
church has a right to choose its own pastor, and
manage, in subordination to the common interests,
its own affairs, embodied in their organization and
vindicated in their practice the great central truth
of ecclesiastical autonomy, so strangely overlooked
for generations, but on this soil never to be lost
sight of again.
With something of fear and trembling they
gathered up the lessons of the past. The clouds
were still piled up on the eastern sky, which spoke
of the tempests of wrong and outrage which the
preceding generation of Englishmen had felt in
their full severity. What a future might still be
before them they could not tell, but they had abun-
dant reason to be jealous of their rights, and guard
with vigilance their sacred trust.
But where do we stand to-day, and what is the
prospect that opens before us ? The feeble one
has become a host. The Presbyterian church in
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. Ill
tliis country, divided once and again, is at length
reunited. Its history is enriched with grandest
names. Turn over its pages, and you shall meet
there the portraits of Makemie, Dickinson, Burr,
Edwards, Davies, Witherspoon, Mason, Griffin,
Blackburn, Alexander, Miller, Eichards, and
scores of others, the very mention of whom
brings up before us all that is venerable in char-
acter, or high and pure in purpose, or command-
ing in eloquence. "Where there was a feeble
sapling once, swaying with every blast, there
stands now a broad trunk, with its roots strong
and deep in our own American soil, but with
branches spreading out their sheltering shade over
a continent. The Presbyterian church in this land
is, in respect to numbers, intelligence, moral influ-
ence, educational institutions, one of the most pow-
erful organizations in the land. If it is faithful to
its trust, faithful to the pledge given over and over
again in the history of its past endeavors, the gen-
erations that follow you here shall witness a future
for it, so cheering, so sublime in achievement, so
extended in influence, that the contrast of its germ
112 FIRST CmmCH, ORANGE.
and development shall make romance seem tame,
and invite upon it the benedictions of angels and
men. It will expand its field of effort with the
country's growth. It will apply its energies with a
self-denying zeal. In all the centres of arts, and
and commerce, and social life, it will be found at
work, originating churches and institutions that
will regenerate society, and stand as witnessing
monuments of God's truth, till the grand work of
human redemption is complete.
With such a prospect the actual history of this
church links that day of small things, when its
fathers, feeble in means and small in numbers, laid
here the foundations of many generations. Look
to the past, and then to the future, and you will
feel that you stand upon a Pisgah. Close by you
on the one side is the weariness and desolation of
the desert ; on the other is Canaan promise, and
the near and ever nearer advent of that Jerusalem
which is from above, which is the mother of us all.
"We breathe the purer air of a higher life. We
look down upon periods of strife and division, and
lament our errors. We look upward and invoke
HISTORICAL BISCOUBSE. 113
the grace that will perfect our union, by the same
influences that cement and secure the eternal union
of the blessed.
It is well that we may meet for our commemora-
tive task at a day like this. It lends inspiration to
the occasion. Our fathers would have rejoiced to
see this day, and been glad. IIow their silent
benedictions seem to distil upon us, as in our
thanksgivings we recognize the grace that has
triumphed over division, and made the reunited
church what it is to-day ! If those who have toiled
here, and borne the heat and burden of the day
— who have been associated with the trials and the
hopes of the past — could appear among us, with
what radiant spirits, with what hearty God-speeds,
would they greet us, swelling our joys while they
fulfilled their own !
They are not with us in person — however their
spirits may hover near. They will not come back
to us, but we shall go to them. And what a lesson
to inspire us to high endeavor, that we may recount
what their feebleness has achieved, and may say,
as we do to-day, that over these graves, these hal-
114
FIRST CETmCH, ORANGE.
lowed scenes of prayer and praise, these spheres of
toil and trial, there waves the banner of a reunited
church, there gather associations and memories
that make the ground we tread seem holy, there
come thronging clouds of witnesses whose pres-
ence in thought we could not and would not
banish.
i. V..-- ^ -
.Christian hm-
OF
MADISON, New Jersey
Y.
ANSON D. F. RANDOLPH
Remember the days of old;
Consider the years of many generations."
Deut. 32 : 7.
POEM.
^f^^^ICTURES OP OTHER Periods : these to-night
I bring to place before your waiting sight ;
And here the Present shall its sunlight cast
Ui3on the lengthening shadows of the Past :
Each varied hue, and interblending part,
Have power to please, and elevate tlie heart ;
And all combined make one harmonious whole,
To stir the pulses of the grateful soul.
Behold a picture of the days of eld,
When these broad lands the Fathers first beheld ;
And by the waters of Communipaw
The Burgomaster first the Yankee saw,
And little dreamed, as then their trade began,
That he was dealing with the Coming Man,
Whose restless feet but touched New England's shore,
And thence departed to return no more.
But ever onward with resistless sway,
From age to age would Westward make his way ;
118 FIRST CmmCE, ORANGE.
His hand the waste and desert soil subdue,
And build the City where the Forest grew ;
The Church and School plant firm in every vale,
Where late was found tlie Indian's fire or trail ;
That one by one there slowly might arise
New States, as stars, to bless the Nation's eyes, —
From where the waters of the Hudson rolled.
To San Francisco's opening Gate of Gold !
Where the Passaic like a silver thread.
Winds through the marshy meadows to the Sound,
Your Fathers, by the Great All-Father led,
Planted the seeds, whose fruitage here is found.
Stern in their will, of shnple faith and pure.
They for His cause would any ill endure :
His was the World — dare any one exi^ect
To rule the State, save only His elect ?
Such was their creed — a life and not a name.
And here to found their perfect State they came :
Who would might come, in peace securely dwell,
And sow and reap, or fi'eely buy and sell
Under just rule — so did their laws denote —
While none but Saints should have the right to vote !
Just to themselves, to others they were true ;
The Indian at their hands no outrage knew ;
POEM. 119
They took his lands and paid as they agreed,
And had from him a primal title deed
For these fair lands, that from the river shore
Break at the mountain ; full many a score
Of miles of wood and undulating plain,
And valleys low, by purchase did obtain.
And this the j)rice : if there be brokers here.
Who put our house-rent higher every year,
Give your attention, lend me now your ear.
And I in verse the jDrice will here relate,
Of this great sale of Orange Real Estate !
Fifty double hands of powder, and one hundred bars of lead ;
Twenty ankers of good liquors, or equivalent instead ;
Twenty coats and twenty pistols, and of swords and kettles ten ;
Fifty knives ; ten pair of breeches for the most distinguished
men ;
Full eight hundred feet of wampum, and four barrels of good
beer.
And three troopers' coats : — Fm sure yoii do not think the pur-
chase dear;
But rather that your fathers were unwise.
They did not buy, and hold it for a rise !
From river's marge back to the mountain's foot,
They built their homes, the cottage and the hut ;
The rich, a house in length but thirty feet
120 FIRST CEmtCn, ORANGE.
And twenty wide, found ample and complete ;
"While for the poor, two rooms, or three at best,
Met every want, if God became the guest.
No brocatelle in gilt and carved wood,
Made of the home a most essential part ;
No mirror on a sculptured mantel stood —
The uneven walls were bare of works of art.
The whitened floor, and simple oaken chair,
The dresser and the shining platters there,
The chest of drawers, with common oblong chest.
And spinning wheel at motion or at rest,
With table polished by the scrubbing broom, —
These were the features of the living room ;
In next, the bed where wearied ones laid down,
To sweeter sleep than he who wears a crown ;
While near the shelf, on which the Bible lay,
God's angel stood to guard them night and day.
They little knew of other lands and men,
Nor sought for knowledge deemed beyond their ken
They saw no wicked spirits in the air.
Nor tracked the hated Indian to his lair ;
While day by day they went the common round
Of duty, and God's blessing sought and found.
Beside the church they reared the public school.
And ruling self, could others wisely rule ;
POEM. 131
The good protect and hold the bad in awe.
Not by the Civil but the Higher Law ;
Forsook some errors of their earlier days,
And walked in broader and more liberal ways ;
The rights of conscience fully did accord,
Nor held the Church as greater than its Lord ;
While evermore their life this truth disjjlayed,
That God, not man, is first to be obeyed !
Unlettered men ! whose names are known to few,
Ye builded broader than ye thought or knew :
"While wary Statesmen and ambitious Kings
Worked out their problems, aimed at meaner things,
Spread to the world each wide embracing plan,
Regardless of the sacred rights of man.
Ye in the forest, all to them unknown.
Assumed a power still greater than the throne ;
As stone by stone, with none to make afraid.
Those deep foundations were securely laid,
On which your children at a later date
Should rear the fabric of a nobler State !
Full fifty years each Sabbath day had seen,
With shining faces and becoming mien,
The settlers here to Newark take their way,
There in God's house the solemn vow to pay.
But now in numbers slowly stronger grown,
8
122 FIRST CHURCH, ORANOE.
They would build up a meeting of their o^ii,
True to their Order, firm as Plymouth Rock,
And wholly made of Congregational stock ;
For oh, most sad to think and sad to say.
The Newark Church had gone another way ;
While loving Cambridge, honoring Saybrook too,
It long had sought thu special work to do —
T' absorb Westminster, with those lights full orbed-
But in th' attempt had been itself absorbed !
'T was but the law ; such efibrt could but fail.
The right must ever in the end prevail !
Tiiat which succeeds within a narrow bound,
In wider circles oft is wanting found.
This Order on New England's sterile soil.
Bears goodly fruit, repays the patient toil ;
The tree transplanted into broader fields.
Grows sickly, and but little fruitage yields,
Till grafted on the Presbyterian tree,
(As has been shown in many a learned D. D.,)
It has a life that winter cannot kill,
While summer heat new juices doth distill :
And if it will not th^is consent to grow, —
Hut I forbear : the Mountain church you know
Tried it full long— but failed to make it go.
If there be friends of tliib old Order here.
POEM. 123
I trust their duty has been macle so clear
That here and now their grafting may begin,
While we are waiting to receive them in !
Look now, my friends, behold with thankful eyes,
The Mountain Temple of the Lord arise !
No skillful Architect had drawn his plan —
No estimates had skillful builders made ;
No keen trustees been set the work to scan,
Or borrow money in the Marts of Trade ;
The ladies had not even held a fair .
To buy the carpets and the pulpit chair,
Or named committee, say of three or five,
To fan their funds and keep the flame alive
When men refused to give, and that outright,
As trade was dull and money very tight :
But rare Old Pierson, tyi^e of those who wrought
The work of God, because they knew they ought,
Nor stoi^ped to parley, wasting half their day
In frequent asking if the work would pay ; —
He and his friends on holy purpose bent.
Their little skill and cheerful labor spent.
The axe and wedge apart the timber tore.
The noisy saw divided it again ;
The augur made its round and perfect bore.
While swiftly moved the ready smoothing plane,
124 FIRST cmntcn, orange.
Till all was done, and God by them was praised,
In those rude walls they by His help had raised.
Would that I had the pencil and the skill,
The Opening Service fitly to portray ;
How would your eyes with tears of gladness fill,
Your hearts leap up as theirs to sing and pray.
The gray haired sire, the bronzed and stalwart son.
The stooping mother and the bashful maid,
"With little children, quiet now and staid.
Had in their places gathered, one by one.
No organ peal disturbed the solemn air.
No anthem ushered in the opening prayer ;
First on the ear, stretched to its true intent.
Broke th' full voice of him whom God had sent :
They at its summons rose with reverent mien.
The head bowed low, the heart too full for si^eech,
"While on the wrinkled face there might be seen
A look that compassed heaven in its reach,
As from the preacher's lij^s there outward went
Words that on wings of praise were heavenward sent.
And when he ended with his full Amen !
From trembling lips it faintly rose again.
The time would fail, were I to linger here.
And in detail portray each passing year ;
How from the East, sountl in the fiiith, to claim
POEM. 125
Their loving homage, Daniel Taylor came —
For thirty years these paths of duty trod,
Fearless of man, but in the fear of God :
As poor man's friend, and to th' oppressed a shield,
To might, as wrong, was never known to yield,
While he with zeal made known the Gospel plan.
And all the " wondrous ways of God to man."
When from the East far to the South and West,
The restless foot of Whitelield onward pressed,
Then when the spirit of the Lord came down
The labors of the toiling ones to crown,
Here in the Mountain were His wonders shown,
In quickening saints, in turning hearts of stone,
And Taylok saw the glory of the Lord,
And years of waiting brought the large reward.
In patient service thus he kept the Faith ;
The good fight fought : triumphant was in death ;
And this his praise : When with the dead he slept,
His memory green was by his people kept.
I ask you now to look again, and see
What was, what is not, what again should be ;
The Parsonage, early reared by willing hands,
With ample marge of wood and meadow lands ;
Whereto in time a youthful pastor* came,
♦ Rev. Caleb Smith.
126 FIRST CETdRCE, ORANGE.
"With her wliose ftithei-f bore an honored name,
Whose praise in all the churches could be found,
Whose zeal for God no limit knew or bound,
Wlaose weighty words and cogent argument
With vital force straight to the conscience went,
While clear in doctrine, ever apt to teach,
With sweetest grace could simplest Gospel preach.
Trained in such school, by such a master taught.
The second pastor learned to shape his thought,
And hither came, in all the grace of youth,
Its ardent zeal, and glowing love of truth.
About that Parsonage of those days long gone,
What memories cluster, and what scenes are drawn !
What else we see, where'er our steps may roam,
We find no simpler, see no happier home.
Could those long fallen walls articulate,
And all their prisoned secrets here relate.
Or on the canvas, with the pencil throw
The scenes they witnessed in the years ago ; —
Of grief or joy, of love or hope defen-ed.
All then withlield, all that was there conferred, —
The secrets told, the errors full confessed.
With treinbling lips, or sobbings unsuppressed, —
t Rev. Jonathan Dickinson, of Ellzabethtown.
POEM. 127
Your hearts would alternate 'tv?ixt hopes and fears,
One moment sanguine, and the next depressed,
And laughter come unbidden on your tears !
Yet there the round that every morning brought
The press of care, some useful lesson taught ;
And there the Pastor wisdom daily learned,
Which to account he in the pulpit turned ;
While in his own he would his people show
A Christian Home, the sweetest spot below,
Not free from ill, that is the common lot, —
How could he serve if here he had it not ? —
Where every joy might have a keener zest,
No state that did not bring with it content,
Since all that came was timely, for the best,
And by the loving Lord in mercy sent.
I jjass the scenes wherein you might behold
The new and larger church supplant the old : —
Look on the people fasting, and at prayer
That God would come their well-beloved to spare, —
Then turn once more, where slow the funeral train
Winds to the grave, and leaves the dead again.
The Pastor's work was done : he had possessed
The promised land, and entered into rest.
Ah ! well they loved him : precious memories kept,
Though side by side he now with Taylor slept ;
128 FIRST CHURCH, ORANGE.
And here to-day your love with theirs is shown,
In fitting words, and monumental stone !
The Mountain Church was wise to understand
No field's well ploughed without a guiding hand,-
And so with decent haste set out to find
One true in farrow, and of ready mind
To do the work : and, strange though it may sound,
They thought he in New England must be found.
There straight, with letters to the Fathers, went
A brother, on this purpose fully bent.
Not type of some who in this later day
Hunt for a Pastor, knowing not the way :
Their trials sore, and disappointments keen.
You have, my friends, too often, often seen.
No easy task, in these swift days of ours.
To find a man jjossessed of all the powers, —
The power to preach, with ampler powers to talk,
Of pleasing manners and a graceful walk ;
At funerals good, at parties full of life.
With just the woman for a pastor's wife ;
Who sage advice from no one will refuse.
And raise the funds by filling up the pews.
Not such as this your fathers went to seek.
But one in doctrine sound, in spirit meek :
They hated error, and no honeyed speech
POEM. 129
"Would answer, if be failed the truth to preach.
Yet, to be honest, I should here relate
He must speak well, and they were free to state
That they New England's drawling tone did hate.
At length in Chapman what they sought was found,
A Pastor good, a preacher wise and sound.
He came when ominous signs along the sky
Foretold those days that noble souls would try ;
He heard the voice that 'cross the ocean went —
" You shall not tax if none may rejiresent !"
He read in mystic lines on chest of tea
The Captions of the Charter of the Free,
And saw the flash, and heard the signal gun,
That shook the world on plain of Lexington.
Through those and all the years of noise and strife
He did his work, nor counted dear his life;
In Church and State, was true to God and man,
Wise in his work, and honest in his plan :
He saw the "War with all its tumults cease.
The many States slow rounding into One,
"While on the Church, God sent with days of peace.
That power by which alone His work is done.
I may not on long years of service dwell,
Or speak of all so wisely done and -^eW :
Enough that from your church another came.
130 FIRST cmmcn, orange.
Wliose altar-fire, though separate, was the same ;
And he in public measures foremost still,
Cheerful of heart, and sovereign in his will ;
Though strong in speech, was careful how he wrought,
And ever practiced what he clearly taught !
A single fact, a word of comfort here
For those who cause of Woman's Rights hold dear, —
Who'd lift the Angel woman to each place
That Man now holds, that demon of the race !
When a good deacon of this church resigned
His Treasurership, this record do we find :
That to his daughter Esther, then a maid
The sum of twenty shillings should be paid :
And fixyts there were which made this duty clear, —
She had the Treasurer been for many a year !
The old, old law, of Christian and of Turk,
Man has the honors, woman does the work!
One other picture, and I leave you then
To memories that are fresh in living men.
Awhile had Griffin, he of silvery tongue
And heart of fire, served his Master here ; —
What pathos on those lips there often hung !
What piercing notes to stir the soul with fear !
Then Hillyer came, with ample gifts and rare,
POEM. 131
Your fathers' work and generous love to share.
Abundant labors, in unnumbered ways,
Attest his virtues and prolong his praise ;
Alike the rich, the needy or oppressed.
Held him as friend, or welcomed him as guest ;
No noble cause to which he did not lend
The skill to do what faith could comprehend.
These solid walls, this temple of the Lord, .
His steadfast faith and patient toil record ;
But dearer for those monuments of grace
I in the fathers and their children trace ;
Who now as then still rise to call him blessed,
Who with them wrought till here they Christ confessed.
I see him now, as down yon aisle he came,
Up to the feast spread in his Master's name :
Those emblems mute of body and of blood,
How glad his heart as then and there he stood ;
The earth afar, the hour so near at hand.
When he beside his risen Lord should stand !
With feeble lips, and sweetest whispering word,
The secret pulses of the people stirred ;
Awhile with trembling hands the bread he brake,
And bade them eat it for the Master's sake :
And then, e'en while they wept, the cup he poured,
And gave his final message of the Lord.
132 FIRST CnURCn, ORANGE.
'Twas his last service, fitting and complete,
A hallowed scene, a memory rare and sweet.
As one who through a crowded gallery strays
"Where Art its master-i^ieces well displays,
Observes each one, in each finds some delight,
Yet holds them all within his wondering sight,
Nor knows wliicli most he loves, or which is best,
"What school is rarer, or is best expressed,
Still finds in all a joy to carry thence,
A loftier thought, a clearer, deeper sense, —
So I, my friends, amid the Fathers here,
Speak of the few, but all alike revere ;
No wondrous name nor single life display,
But equal honor imto all would jjay.
Each did his work, each in his place has shown
That which was wortiiy, and whicli should be known.
Let us to-night these many names enshrine:
TnEIU DEEDS DEROIC, AKD THEIR FaiTH StTBLIME !
VI.
R,EV. J4MES !•
W^TH
RECOLLECTIONS OF HIS PASTORATE,
BY
STEPHEN WICKES, M. D.,
Member op Session.
.^V,N.\
" He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious
seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing
his sheaves with him."
Psalm cxxyi: 6.
DISCOURSE.
HE ministry of tlie Eev. Wm. C. White,
the fifth pastor of this church, termi-
nated by his resignation of his charge in
April, 1855. During the most of the period of his
honored and useful ministry, Orange, which then
embraced within its limits all the present Oranges,
and extended over the mountain to the town of'
Livingston on the west, contained a somewhat
sparse and rural population. About the time of
his settlement, the historian describes the place
as a straggling village and post-town, extending
about three miles along the turnpike from Kew-
ark toward Dover, containing two Presbyterian
churches, one Episcopal, and one Methodist ; two
taverns, ten stores ; two saw mills and a bark mill ;
and about two hundred to two hundred and thirty
dwellings ; a large trade being carried on in the
136 FiiiST cnuncn, oranoe.
manufacture of leather, shoes and hats. The
population of the township, four years before his
settlement, was rated by the census at 3,887. The
opening of the Morris & Essex Eailroad in the year
1836, first run from Orange to Newark by horse
power; and in less than a year thereafter by steam,
through from Madison to Newark, connecting at
that place with the New Jersey Railroad to New
York, stimulated a new and hitherto unknown
source of local growth. The facilities of inter-
communication increased trade and manufactures,
and began to invite new residents within its limits.
These changes, at first slow in their influence, had
begun, at the time of Mr. White's resignation, to
exert a marked change in the character of the
population of the town. The rapid increase of the
metropolis in commercial growth, and the appro-
priation of all the lower parts of the city to business
purposes, rendered necessary the removal of the
merchants' homes to the upper parts of the city, or
to those towns contiguous which afforded conven-
ient modes of transit. The business hours of the
great city had begun to be regulated by the time
tables of railroad and steamboat lines. The natural
BIS COURSE. 137
beauty of tbe Orange landscape, its hill and dale,
its mountain slope, its elevation above tide water,
and the perfection of its natural drainage, all com-
bined to oft'er unusual attractions to those in search
of a rural home. The quiet of the region, and the
absence too of those influences which invite the
sporting class, secured, to a marked degree, an
increase of residents distinguished for their love of
high moral and Christian iufl.ucnces. This infu-
sion of a new and vigorously active Christian
element exerted a marked effect upon all the
Christian congregations of the town, and upon
none more so than upon our own.
It will thus be readily seen that when the suc-
cessor of the faithful "White entered upon his labors
in Orange, the church was in a transition state.
The impulse and vigor of city life was being
brought in contact and commingling with the
slower and perhaps more substantial habits, nur-
tured under the more quiet influences of rural
occupations. Each element, the old and the new,
had much to learn from the other, and the lessons
of the period were cordially accepted by a church
ever united and harmoniously striving to promote
9
138 FIRST CHURCH, ORANGE.
its highest interests, for the honor of the Divine
Master.
The Rev. James Iloyt was installed the sixth
pastor of this church on the 14th of February,
1856. lie was the son of Jas. Taylor and Re-
becca Hoyt, and was born in Greenfield, Saratoga
County, :N'ew York, on the 7th of October, 1817,
being the youngest son of a family of eight child-
ren. His father, during the earlier years of his
married life, was not a professor of religion. lie
was brought to repentance, and to the exercise of
faith in Christ, by the sudden death of his eldest
son by drowning. This afflictive providence gave
to the godly mother a pious husband, and to the
children a pious father. The change in his charac-
ter was at once manifest. Before his conversion
he had little sympathy with the religious senti-
ments of his wife, being inclined to adopt the doc-
trines of Universalism. He once said to his son,
that whatever change of views he might expe-
rience in regard to religion, he knew that he should
never become a Presbj'terian. He knew not him-
self, nor the power of Divine grace. Upon his
conversion, he became very decided in his Calvin-
DISCOURSE. 139
istic views ; united with the Presbyterian church
in Galway, New York, and became, at once, an
earnest and active church member ; often riding
from seven to nine miles to attend the evenina:
prayer meeting. lie was soon elected a ruling
elder, and exercised the functions of his office till
laid aside by disease. He was characterized by
great firmness of moral principle, great argument-
ative powers, and a most retentive memory. The
godly parents lived to see their seven surviving
children hopefully pious, and pleasantly settled in
life. James, the subject of this notice, exhibited,
when very young, a peculiar aptitude for learning.
"When he was five years old, his father brought
home, among other books, a copy of Bunyan's
Pilgrim's Progress, which was given to him.
Pleased with his new book, he devoted himself to
its study. The minister soon after visiting the
family, in noticing the youngest boy, said to him,
" I suppose that you will soon be old enough to
read." " I can read already," he replied, and
gave evidence of his ability by the ease and cor-
rectness with which he read the book. As a child
he was always frank, unassuming and kind. His
140 FIRST CHURCH, ORANGE.
brother says of him, " I know not that he ever
quarreled in the least, with one of his playmates,
and had he in early life professed piety, no one
could have charged him with impropriety of
deportment as a Christian." Once when sus-
pected by another with an attempt to deceive, a
companion came boldly to his defence, exclaim-
ing, " boys, you know that James Iloyt never told a
lie." His fondness for books, and the ease and
rapidity with which he learned, induced his father
to favor him in the acquirement of a liberal educa-
tion. "When he commenced Murray's English
Grammar, he committed it to memory with so
much rapidity, that his teacher concluded that he
was one of those who learned rapidly, and forgot
so soon as learned ; and with this view, when he
had completed the book, she turned to the com-
mencement, and asked him, " What is English
Grammar ?" he answered immediately, and con-
tinued reciting until she handed him the book,
saying that she had not time to hear him recite the
whole. In the Sabbath School he was accustomed
to recite from one hundred to two hundred verses
of Scripture at one lesson. While he was pastor
DISCOURSE. 141
in Orange, he once remarked to a friend that the
large amount of Scripture which he had committed
to memory when a boy, was of great value to him
in the preparation of his sermons. lie had also a
good voice and ear for music, taking, while very
young, the lead of the singing in public worship.
In the summer of 1835 he left home, to enter
upon a course of study preparatory to entering col-
lege. While at the academy in Fairfield, New
York, he made a public profession of religion.
He stated at the time, that he had experienced no
sudden change of feeling or sentiment, but that he
believed that he was a Christian, and as such, he
felt it to be his duty to take a more public stand
for Christ, " and," said he, " henceforth I shall
do so."
lie entered the senior class in Union Colle2:e in
1839. As a college student, he was especially fond
of the languages, a knowledge of which he acquired
with great facility ; and yet his knowledge of the
mathematics was such, that his professor, at the
close of a recitation, once asked him if the mathe-
matics had not always been his favorite study, to
which he gave a negative reply.
142 FIRST CHURCH, ORANGE.
Upon bis graduation at college, he immediately
entered the Union Theological Seminary, at which
he graduated in 1844, and was licensed to preach
by the Third Presbytery of New York. Just after
he was licensed, a friend says, " I remember with
what a solemn expression he stated his feelings,
when he entered the sacred desk to preach his first
sermon ; said he, ' now, then, ice are ambassadors
for Christ' A classmate remarked to me after-
wards what a deep impression that sentiment, as
spoken by him, had made upon his mind."
Soon after his licensure, he was invited to supply
the pulpit of the church in Ilarlem. While there
he was visited by a committee from a church in
Stanwich, Connecticut, inviting him to visit them
and become their pastor, if it should prove to be
mutually desirable. He was thereupon presented
with a call from the church in Ilarlem, which he
did not feel at liberty to accept. lie went to Stan-
wich, and labored with such acceptance as to secure
the warm affection of the church and congregation.
While at Stanwich his lungs, which had become
somewhat diseased during his course of prepara-
tory study, became so seriously affected that a resi-
DISCOmtSE. 143
dence at tlie South was recommended by Ms medi-
cal adviser.
After visiting many of the principal cities of the
Southern States, he was called to the First Presby-
terian Church of Tuskegee, Alabama. lie was
ordained as its pastor in 1846. The church being
new and somewhat weak, he devoted himself, with
no ordinary success, to the promotion of its growth.
"While at Tuskegee he was married to Miss Frances
L. Pratt, daughter of Dr. Linus H. Pratt, of New
York. After a ministry of three years at this place,
he resigned his charge. The reasons moving him
thereto were partly pecuniary and partly those of
health, and with the conviction that his usefulness
might be greater in some other field of labor.
He had always taken a deep interest in the
education of the young, had been an early friend
of common schools, and had done much for their
improvement. lie had always been a successful
teacher, and hoping that his health might be
benefitted by the change, he accepted a position
as principal of a large Female Institute under
the care of Presbytery, at Talladega, Alabama.
144 FIRST CnUIiCn, ORANGE.
Here liis characteristic diligence and devotion to
Lis work were shown, employing his time, in
the school and out of it, for the good of his
pupils. The moral and religious influence which
he exerted over this institution was of a marked
character. One of the trustees remarked that in
Mr. Iloyt were embodied all the essentials of a
successful teacher. During his connection with
the Institute, he delivered a course of chemical
lectures with experiments, also several lectures on
education. One on " Religion in Schools," was
published by the trustees.
In 1853 he returned to the I^orth, with his wife
and child. The signs of the approaching conflict
were, even then, beginning to make his position
uncomfortable, and his restored health led him to
desire once more to eno-asce in the work of the
ministry. The first winter after his return was
spent in New York. lie then supplied the pulpit
of the church in Stamford, Connecticut, and the
following winter declined a call to become its
pastor, and accepted an invitation to the First Con-
gregational Church in New London, Connecticut,
mSCOUHSE. 145
as a colleague to the Rev. Dr. McIrwin. After au
engagement of about nine months, he received a
call from that church, but did not consider it suffi-
ciently unanimous to warrant his acceptance. He
soon after received a unanimous call from this
church, and entered at once upon his ministry
with this people. His diary, which records this
new relation, has the following minute : "I am
thus the second time a pastor — the shepherd of a
numerous flock. Oh that I might ever feel the
responsibilities which such a charge imposes, and
so be led to the unfailing source of strength and
wisdom. That I may suitably feed the flock, and
lead them to the heavenly pastures, is my heart's
desire and prayer to God."
His entrance upon his ministerial work in Orange
was marked by circumstances of peculiar and
solemn interest. Only four days before his instal-
lation, he had seen this House of God hung with
the emblems of mourning, and filled by a sorrow-
ing congregation. The servant of God, who for
more than twenty-two years had ministered to this
people, had been suddenly called to the heavenly
146 FIRST cmmcn, ouange.
rest. There were two coincidences. The first
was, that his pastorate began in the same month,
and the same week of the month, in which his
predecessor's had commenced twenty-three years
before. Had the installation occurred a day sooner
the coincidence of dates would have been exact.
The second was, that it took place in the same
week with his burial. One minister at the altar
was just carried out, as another was called to
ofliciate in the same holy oflSce. In his first anni-
versary discourse, alluding to these impressive
events, he says : " I was taught that the pulpit is,
like other places, but a step from the grave, and
that I should do with my might whatsoever work
God gives me to do. There was also something in
such a juncture of events to support the faith of the
church. Ministers die, but the ministry remains.
The Word still lives, though tongues that have pro-
claimed it become silent." "With such sentiments,
he entered with his characteristic energy upon the
responsibilities of his ministry in this church.
It is less the design of this discourse to give a
connected history of Mr. Iloyt's pastorate, than to
DISCOURSE. 147
furnisli such recollections as may illustrate its
character, and to preserve such facts and incidents
as may be worthy of being treasured in the future.
If what is offered may prove to be somewhat desul-
tory, it is hoped that it may possess more interest
for an occasion like this, than a continuous history
would afford.
I notice first, the valuable contribution to the
history of the church and of the town, entitled the
" Mountain Society, a History of the First Presbyte-
rian Church of Orange." This book was the out-
growth of a resolution of the Session to compile a
manual for the use of the members of the church
and congregation. When the manual was pre-
pared, the pastor was requested to preface the
same by a concise history of the church, with a
short notice of its former pastors. lie accepted
the task, and entered upon its execution, not know-
in o^ how large a field of historical research was
before him. The work of publishing the manual
was delayed for a considerable time, waiting for
the short historical preface. It was finally fur-
nished to the Session by the pastor, with the state-
148 FIRST CEUnCn, ORANGE.
ment that this little effort had so grown upon his
hands, and he had struck so many historical veins,
before unopened, that he preferred to prepare and
publish a history by itself. Ilis book was given
to the public in 1860. It was the result of much
labor and research. As he says, when writing of
it, " no one can appreciate such a labor, who has
not personally undertaken it. The letters written
in the way of eliciting information would of them-
selves make quite a volume. Some scores of
miles have had to be traveled in the parish and
its vicinity, to gather names and facts and dates.
The old graveyard has had to be visited, its dim
monuments patiently cleared, and their inscrip-
tions copied ; many an hour, or series of hours,
has been passed in the company of these silent
memorials of generations gone." All this, with
searches into the old township records of Newark
for two hundred years, and records of Presbytery
and Synod, involved an amount of time and labor
which led him, at times, to regret that he had
undertaken it. The result, however, is the pre-
servation of valuable material which would very
DISCOURSE. 149
soon have been lost, and famishes an enduring
monument to his zeal for the honor of this ancient
church, for which his name will be held in lasting
gratitude.
The Presbytery of Kewark, with which our
church is connected, has for many years past taken
a special interest in promoting the Christian wel-
fare of the German population within its limits.
In 1861 a German church in Paterson was made
by Presbytery an object of its regard, and a
committee was appointed to procure among the
churches a sum of money sufficient to relieve it of
its pecuniary burdens. The committee consisted
of three, but it proved that the work was chiefly
thrown upon our pastor, as the man best adapted
to secure its success. He entered upon it, and by
exchanges with the other ministers of Presbytery,
and appropriating to the effort the time allotted to
him for his summer vacation, he successfully com-
pleted it, creating in his own mind a deep and
lasting interest in the German population. His
interest and efforts for this class of our fellow citi-
zens continued while he lived. It was a remark
i.jO first (jnuRcn, oranoe.
not uncommon among his people, that Mr. lloyt
had German on the brain. It was more true that
he had the German on his heart, and its reflex
action on his vigorous brain secured a large suc-
cess to the cause he loved. In 1864 the Presbytery
initiated the work of German church erection,
fixing upon the sum of eight thousand dollars as
the amount to be raised among the churches. To
tliis end, Dr. Poor, late of N'ewark, was made
chairman of the committee of Presbytery, and Mr.
IToyt liis associate. It was expected by Mr. Iloyt,
and by Presbytery, that the chairman would
assume the chief labor of the work, but being
very providentially laid aside by sickness, his asso-
ciate assumed it. During the fall and winter of
that year he presented the cause in the Second
Church of Orange, in Caldwell, Montclair, South
Orange, Plaintield, Mendham, Morristown, Bloom-
field, in the five churches in Newark, and in his
own church, preaching and taking collections
fourteen times ; the pastors from these diflerent
churches filling his pulpit in the morning, and
where practicable returning himself to conduct the
DISCOURSE. 151
second service. Dr. Poor remarked to the writer,
that he felt deeply disappointed at the necessity
which disease had laid upon him to abandon any
active agency in this efibrt, and invited Mr. Hoyt
to present the subject to his own people, " "When
I heard his admirable appeal," said he, " I felt
that God had placed the matter in the best hands,
and that its success was assured." The Presby-
tery passed a vote of thanks to the committee,
and in a resolution recognized the aid which this
people had rendered, by generously allowing their
minister to proceed with the enterprise through so
long a time. " One efi'ect of this work," says Mr.
Iloyt, in writing upon the subject, " has been to
awaken attention to the heaving masses of foreign-
ers that are displacing the old American residents
of our large cities, and to the pressing importance
of such mission work among the Protestant Ger-
mans as will engraft them, (which may easily be
done,) upon our American Protestantism. It is
now a recognized fact that we have a great work
of this kind to do."
As a preacher, our pastor was much above the
152 FIRST CnURCn, OBANOE.
average. A Calvinist in his belief, his views of
Christian doctrine were remarkably accurate. lie
knew exactly what he believed, and could defend
his faith by the most logical argument. His dis-
courses were well studied and well written, with
passages often of much eloquence and power. lie
was not emotional, but presented truth in so clear
and logical a form that it found a lodgment in the
convictions and conscience of the attentive hearer.
The great theme of his preaching was Christ and
Ilim crucified, and around this primal truth were
drawn the powers of his cultured mind.
Nevertheless, possessing great force of character,
with strong convictions, and with moral courage to
proclaim and enforce them, he sometimes brought
himself in collision with those whose sentiments
were not in correspondence with his own. He
was inspired with a broad view of his responsi-
bilities as a minister of God, and with enlarged
and accurate ideas of the relations of moral and
religious truth. N"o considerations of personal
popularity prevented him from meeting the de-
mands of the times. Popular errors, vicious
DISCOURSE. 153
practices, social evils and national sins, met their
fitting rebuke at liis hands.
It stands to his honor as a citizen, and as a
Christian minister, that his preaching was not
always popular. As was said of him by one, not
a member of his congregation, " Mr. Iloyt was a
marked man, and he has left an enduring mark
upon this community." The terse, doric record on
that memorial tablet is historic of his work : " He
died in the discharge of an honored and faithful
ministry."
lie had been our pastor about three years, when
he was impressed with the belief that the insidious
doctrines and evil tendencies of the so-called
spirilunl manifestations, were exerting a disturbing
influence upon the minds of some within the
bounds of his own parish. Having, in a place of
his former residence, witnessed the distracting
efiects of such teachings in the breaking up of
happy family circles, the insanity of their dupes,
and the destruction of the solid foundations of
Christian belief, he deemed it to be his duty to
meet the error here; and on the 19th of June,
10
154 FIRST CUmtCU, ORANGE.
1859, preached a most exhaustive and convincing
sermon upon " the sin of seeking unto the dead,"
from the passage in Isaiah, viii : 19 : " And when
thej shall say unto you, seek unto them that have
familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep and
that mutter : should not a people seek unto the
Lord? for the living to the dead?" There was
some diversity of sentiment among his people as
to the propriety of discoursing upon such a sub-
ject, and some were offended, but the Scripture
instruction which it imparted, and the solemn
warnings which it contained, settled the wavering
minds and confirmed his people in the soundness
of their Christian faith.
About the year 1861 or 1862, a citizen of Orange
and a member of his church, purchased a plot of
ground within easy distance of the centre of the
town, and leveled and graded it for the purposes
of a Driving Park. When completed, the propri-
etor, for the purpose of inaugurating it with some
eclat, arranged his programme by offering pre-
miums for the entry of trotting horses, thereby
inviting the attendance of the habitues of the race
DISGOXmSE. 155
and trotting course. Tickets were issued and
notices posted, to render the occasion as popular
as possible. The proprietor called upon his min-
ister, and gave him a ticket. He looked at it, and
said, " Is this a respectable affair ?" " It is," said
he, " if you will make it so." lie did not use his
ticket. "What his thoughts were on the occasion
may be judged by the sequel. The Driving Park,
as such, did not prove to be a success, and a
charter was obtained to incorporate the " Essex
County Agricultural Society," the fairs and exhi-
bitions of the same to be held at the Park. Under
this charter " exhibitions " were advertised, in the
County and in the New York City papers, for the
4th of July, 1864. The entertainment promised
was in fact that of a completely appointed race
course, and designed to be so perfect, in fur-
nishing the pleasures of the race, as to give the
Orange Course a name and a place among others in
the neighborhood of the great ciiy. On the third
of July, it being the Sabbath, and the day before
the exhibition, the pastor, against the advice of
one of his warmest friends, came before his people
156 FIRST CnxmCH, ORANGE.
with, a sermon on horse-racing ; showed the evils
of the race, its gambling tendencies, and the injury
which it entails upon the morals of the community.
He then took up the history of the proposed exhi-
bition for the next day; showed that it had not a
single agricultural feature to redeem it; spread
over the desk before him the large posters which
advertised the race, and warned his fellow Chris-
tians and his fellow citizens of the iniquity which
was about to be introduced into our midst ; and as
a man of God, and the guardian of public morality
and virtue, lifted up his standard against its vicious
and corruptiug influences. He preached the same
discourse, by request of the pastor, in the Second
Church, in the evening. This bold and unusual
measure caused much excitement in the conojreo^a-
tion. The posters of the race-course, hung over
the sacred desk in the face of the congregation,
were considered a desecration of the place and of
the sacred associations of the day ; and certainly
they did look a little out of place ; but God's
minister was behind them, and made them the
occasion of earnest warning to the people. IIow
DISCOURSE. 157
far the faithful minister did right in all this, and
how large a debt of gratitude the quiet town of
Orange owes him, may be estimated by the fact
that the writer of this, and others now present,
heard the proprietor of that Park say to the minis-
ter a year or two afterward, " that sermon of yours
killed the lohole thing."
Our minister was a decided friend of temper-
ance. "When the social glass was offered to him,
his reply was, " ]^o, I thank you, I am a Rechab-
ite." He preached a series of sermons on the
wine question, showing the nature of the wines
of the Bible, and their uses. The discussion dis-
played great and very accurate research, and was,
in the estimation of many who heard them, as
exhaustive and profound as anything which has
been published upon the subject.
I should do injustice to my subject and to the
sentiments of those who hear me, if I did not
allude to the relation which the pastor and his
congregation held with reference to the late war
of the rebellion. This pulpit sent forth no uncer-
tain sound during the nation's trial, The pastor, .
158 FIRST CHURCH, ORANGE.
who had resided at the South and been intimately
associated witli the people for a series of years,
was profoundly impressed with the deep moral
turpitude of slavery. He regarded U as the guilty
cause of our civil war. Though never an aboli-
tionist, so called, he was too true to every moral
obligation, because obedient to every divine law,
not to recognize the moral viper which had struck
at the vitals of the nation. Never hesitating to
give bold expression to his sentiments, like the
patriot Chapman in the days of our fathers' revo-
lutionary struggle, he roused the indignation of
his people against the enemies of our government;
and, like him, he stimulated the patriotism of the
people, leading their devotions as, under discour-
agements, they bowed in humiliation before God,
and rejoicing with them as, for victories achieved,
they raised their songs of thanksgiving.
The doors of this edifice were open during all
the war to welcome a community seeking unto the
nation's God in sorrow and in rejoicing. Who can
forget the inspiring peal of its bell as it rung out
the victory at Fort Donaldson, and the spontaneoua
DISCOURSE. 159
gathering of a grateful people within these walls
to render thanks to Almighty God for His mercies
rendered ; and who that was oppressed with doubt
and fear during the long, dark Fourth of July,
1863, will cease to remember the first ring of rejoic-
ing which sounded forth the success at Gettysburg?
Let it not be understood that the other churches
and congregations of the town were not in kindred
sympathy. Almost all of them were imbued with
patriotic devotion. The loyal sympathies of one
of them* found expression in the erection of a
flag staff beside the church, surmounted by a cross,
beneath which, on every Sabbath day, the nation's
flag was unfurled — a beautiful emblem of the
purest loyalty— i^rs^, the cross ; next, our country.
At the close of the war the session of this church
adopted the following minute, and directed that it
should be recorded in its book of minutes :
" "We deem it due to the ancient church in which it is our
privilege to hold office, to place upon its records an expression
of our sentiments, and those of this church, relative to the four
years' civil war now closed.
First, We record the fact that personally, and as a session,
* Grace (Episcopal) Church.
160 FIRST CHURCH, ORANGE.
during all the years of the war, we have been possessed with
an unswerving loyalty and devotion to the Government of the
United States, a conviction of the justice of its measures, and
an abiding faith, under God, in the complete final success of
our arms.
Second. "We rejoice with thanksgiving to God, that as a
result of the war our land is purged from the sin and curse of
slavery.
Third. "We bow in mourning before God, while we recognise
His hand, in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. President
of the United States. "We gave him our individual votes; we
remembered him at our praying altars ; we loved him as a pure
and honest patriot ; we revered him as a wise President, and a
far-seeing and cautious statesman ; we hand down his name to
the future, as
" One of the few, the immortal names
That were not born to die."
Fourth. This church and congregation have cordially sympa-
thised with the pastor, who has fully represented their senti-
ments in his outspoken and distinct expressions of loyalty, and
in his utterances from the jDulpit and elsewhere condemning
the rebellion ; in his prayers for the success of our national
arms; and in his recent four weeks' service (^iu June) as a dele-
gate of the Christian Commission among the military camps in
and around Washington.
In the result of the war we recognize bur high national
destiny, and are profoundly sensible of the obligations laid
upon the Church to meet the responsibilities of its high
mission in tiiis new era of the nation's history."
Adopted September 3, 1865.
DI8C0JJB8E. 161
The results of Mr. Iloyt's ministry indicate its
successful character. When he entered upon his
charge, the membership of the church was two
hundred and fifty-three. There were added during
his ministry about two hundred and eighty-three.
The numbers brought in were thirty more than
the number at the time of his settlement. Those
dismissed from the church numbered one hun-
dred and thirty-three; fifty-eight died ; three were
excommunicated; making one hundred and ninety-
four removed from the roll, leaving a net increase
to the membership of about eighty. A revival of
religion blessed his labors in the winter of 1857-8,
the history and incidents of which are noticed in
his published history. During his pastorate the
church contributed to the cause of religious benev-
olence the sum of twenty-six thousand dollars, in
addition to the amount annually raised for the
purpose of maintaining our own worship.
The official changes which have taken place
during his pastorate, are the election of four elders
in June, 1856, whose names are noticed in his
published history ; and five others in 1864-5.
162 FIRST CHURCH, ORANGE.
William 11. Dayton was added to the sessiou on
October 16, 1864 ; and Edgar P. Starr, Henry N".
Beach, David IL McCoy and Andrew Mason, on
September 24, 1865. George Lindsley, Charles N.
White and Ilorton D. Williams, were elected dea-
cons June 26, of the same year.
During the last ten years the church has fur-
nished members, chiefly from within its own
limits, for the foundation of two other church
organizations, which are now in successful opera-
* tion. The mission enterprise instituted by Elder
James Greacen in Orange Valley, was in existence
when Mr. Hoyt was settled among us. After his
settlement a commodious chapel was erected, at an
expense of $3,500, on ground donated by a mem-
ber of this church, and on November 1st, 1859, was
conveyed by him to " The Trustees of the Orange
Valley Church," and " to their successors in office
for ever." Upon the completion of the chapel, and
before a religious society was organized, the Rev.
Dr. Ilaj^ who was then a resident of Orange, was
selected as a stated supply to preach the Gospel to
those whom he might collect together, the seats being
DISCOURSE. 163
free to all. Ilis success in collecting a congregation
was such that, in the spring of 1860, those living in
the vicinity of the chapel, and all others desirous to
unite in the organization of a church, and who
had contributed anything to the enterprise, were
invited to assemble for the purpose of effecting an
organization. Upon taking a vote, it was found
that the majority was in favor of a church after the
Presbyterian form of government, and the meeting
adjourned with the understanding that the society
should be Presbyterian. A large and influential
minority favored the Congregational. The merits
of the two systems were thereupon made the
subject of further discussion, at a meeting called
subsequently to reconsider the former vote, but
without essentially changing the sentiments of the
majority, until it was urged that if the society
became Presbyterian, and its workings in the
future made it desirable to change to the Congre-
gational form, the Presbytery would interpose such
difficulties as to render a change almost impossible.
This consideration influencing the minds of many
in the majority, who were not sufficiently familiar
164 FIRST CHURCH, ORANGE.
with the Presbyterian system to discover its fallacy,
led to the perfection of their organization as the
First Congregational Church of Orange. Twenty-
eight of our members took their letters to the new
church. It has been in successful progress since
that time. Two years since a large and ornate
church edifice was erected on the ridge to the
east of the chapel, where the congregation now
worship. The Sabbath school and prayer meet-
ings of the church have continued to be held in the
chapel until two months since, when it was sold to
the Romanists. It is now the Roman Catholic
Chapel of " Our Lady of the Valley," much to the
disappointment of those in this church who gave
their sympathies and willing aid to the self-deny-
ing efforts of our brother Greacen, and to the grief
of those in the vicinity who contributed of their
limited means for its erection. Thoufrh their con-
tributions were relatively small, the Master, who
commended the Avidow's mite, may have regarded
them as " more " than those furnished from abun-
dant resources.
The Central Presbyterian Church was organ-
DISCOUBSE. 165
ized in January, 1867, seventeen of our number
taking their letters for the purpose. There were
many excellent members of both the Presbyterian
churches in Orange whose former associations and
sympathies had always been with those of the
other branch of the Presbyterian church, but who,
upon settling in Orange, united with our churches
and cordially gave to them their active co-opera-
tion. We remember them and their Christian
work with us with fraternal affection, and we give
them now, as we ever shall, our heartfelt " God
bless you " in their work. The rapid increase of
our population led them to believe that the time
had arrived for another church, and efforts were
instituted to that end towards the close of the year
1866. The inception of this measure, which we
now recognize as, under God, an abundant suc-
cess, became the source of great mental anxiety
to our pastor. Not that he was unwilling to see
the church enlarge its borders, and put forth new
efforts to extend the blessings of its influence,
for few ministers have a spirit more liberal and
catholic than was possessed and uniformly exhib-
166 FIRST CHURCn, ORANGE.
ited by him ; but because be was not so informed
of the movement, as to form an estimate of his
own hold upon his congregation, and the stability
of his relations to it. Naturally reticent and
hesitating to confide to others his anxieties, and
thereby kept in ignorance of the true animus of
the enterprise, he magnified it into one which
might mar the welfare of the church which he so
much loved. "I don't know," said he to one,
" that almost all my elders may not go out from
me." It was unknown to any of his friends, or to
his church officers, though it is known now, that
for three weeks before his death his mind was
intensely agitated.
Notice was given in the local and New York
papers that religious services after the Presbyte-
rian order would be held in Central Hall on Sab-
bath morning, December 16, and every Sabbath
thereafter. Sickness in our minister's family had
led him early in the week to arrange an exchange
with the Rev. Dr. Poor, of Newark, for the Sab-
bath. On the evening of Saturday, after dark, he
received a message from the doctor that he was
DISCOURSE. 167
confined to his bed by sickness, and would be
unable to preach for him. It may be readily
imagined that this announcement sadly disap-
pointed bim. A break was to occur on the mor-
row among his people ; he knew not the extent of
it, nor its consequences ; and now, on the eve of
this crisis Sabbath, he was left without any prepara-
tion for the services of the day. Having selected
from the material he had on hand, a discourse
from the text, " Will ye also go away?" he left his
house to visit one of his elders, with whom he
remained until after ten o'clock. This elder bears
testimony to his nervous state of mind, and the
exaggerated view which possessed him in regard
to the condition of his church. lie returned late
to his house, quieted somewhat by the conversa-
tion of the evening, and retired to bed, when he
was soon after stricken with apoplexy, which so
speedily terminated his life.
The Sabbath morning opened with a driving,
blinding snow storm. At the hour of worship, his
people who assembled at the church, and those
who, for the first time, passed its open doors to
worship under other auspices, met to hear the
168 FIRST CHURCE, ORANGE.
startling announcement that the pastor was dying.
The occasion was profoundly impressive. The
hand of God was manifest, though we could not
read Ilis purposes. As the dreary, storm-shrouded
hours of the Sabbath wore away, the mortal part
of the pastor wore out with them, and in the
evening twilight the bell tolled the requiem of
his spirit translated from the storms of earth to
the brightness and the rest of heaven.
Do we adequately estimate the keen sensibilities
which possess the heart of a church pastor ? I
notice a coincidence very significant, if not illus-
trative. "When Mr. White died, (he was attacked
witli apoplexy, and died in twenty minutes), the
last of his intelligent acts was the reading, in the
daily paper, a notice of the meeting of Presbytery
for the installation of his successor ; and so the
last intelligent conversation of pastor Iloyt related
to the going out of those to whom he had preached
and for whom he had prayed, to receive the minis-
trations of another.
Ilis remains were borne to their resting place
in Rosedale Cemetery, followed by his stricken
people, and by his associates in the ministry from
DISCOURSE. 169
this and other neighboring towns. The beautiful
apostrophe of his accomplished co-presbyter,* as
the mortal part of our pastor was lowered into the
sepulchre, forms a fitting close to my discourse on
this occasion :
" Farewell, precious remains of our departed
friend and brother ! farewell, till we meet you
again at the glorious resurrection of the just.
" He was a brother beloved, a minister able and
devoted, a Christian marked with a true simplicity
and godly sincerity ; and fearful to us as was the
shock of our sudden bereavement, it was well for
him. Sad, weary and anxious, with burdened
heart and bursting brain, he laid himself down
upon his bed. In the unconsciousness of slumber,
all heaven's glory flashed upon him through its
opening gates, and he went up —
' Not slain, but caught up as it were,
To meet his Saviour in the air.'
' And O how bright
Were the realms of light,
Bursting at once upon the sight.'
"Farewell, dear sainted spirit! Thou hast fought
* Rev. Dr. Stearns.
11
170 FIRST CHURCH, ORANGE.
a good fight. Thou hast finished thy course. Thou
hast kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up
for thee a crown of righteousness.
" * And I heard a voice from Heaven,' says an
apostle, ' saying unto me, write ' Blessed are the
dead who die in the Lord from henceforth.'
* Yea,' saith the spirit, ' that they may rest from
their labors, and their works do follow them.' "
f..
PPLEMENT
The church and congregation so suddenly and so
unexpectedly bereaved, were taught a lesson which
still abides. It was humbly accepted by them.
In their subsequent efl^brts for the welfare of the
church, and in the selection of another pastor, they
have relied upon the smiles and the guidance of
Him who in His divine sovereignty " putteth down
one and setteth up another," doubting not the
wisdom of His purposes.
Without delay an efl:brt was initiated to raise a
SUPPLEMENT. 171
fund for the benefit of the surviving family of the
deceased pastor, which amounted to Five Thousand
Dollars ; One Thousand of which were cordially
contributed by those who were leaving the con-
gregation, for the formation of the new church.
A mural tablet to the memory of Mr. Hoyt, was
erected in the church, according to a resolution
adopted at the annual parish meeting, held in the
month of April succeeding his death. At the
anniversary exercises it was also announced that an
order had been given for the erection of a suitable
monument over his remains in Rosedale Cemetery.
The Central Presbyterian Church, the corporate
title of the new organization, was formed on the
20th of January, 1867. To the original number
(seventeen) who received letters of dismission, none
have since been added from this church. Their
loss to our church was estimated less by their
number than by the esteem in which they were
held, and by the influence they had exerted
through their earnest christian co-operation, and
by their material aid in promoting the interests of
the congregation. The Rev. Edward D. Yeomans,
D. D., was called to the pastorate, from Rochester,
172 FIRST CnUBCn, ORANGE.
]Sr. Y., and was installed on the 2d of July in
the same year. A few months after his settle-
ment, his health failed him, and on the 26th of
August, 1868, he was suddenly removed by death.
The church soon united in a call to the Rev.
Alfred Yeomans, of Bellefont, Pa., a brother of
the deceased pastor, who accepted the call, and was
installed on the 9th of February, 1869. The con-
gregation thereafter purchased a manse and lot
adjoining, at a cost of $20,000, and have erected a
chapel at a cost of $15,000, where they now worship
— the chapel forming an integral part of a plan for
a complete church edifice to be hereafter erected.
The present membership is about one hundred.
The most cordial christian relations have character-
ized the intercourse of the two churches, cemented
as they now are by the re-union of the two branches
of the Presbyterian Church, now substantially
accomplished.
The Rev. Eldridge Mix, a native of Atwater,
Ohio, was installed as successor of the late Mr.
Hoyt, on the 7th of October, 1867. His preliminary
studies were prosecuted first at "Western Reserve
College, and subsequently at Williams College,
SUPPLEMENT. 173
where he graduated in 1854. He pursued his theo-
logical studies two years in Union Seminary, N. Y.,
and one year in Andover, where he graduated in
1860. He was soon after associated with the Rev.
T. S. Hastings, D. D., in the pastorate of the 42d
street and Carmine street Presbyterian Churches,
in New York. The arrest of commercial enterprise,
consequent upon the outbreak of the civil war, led
to the abandonment of the church organization in
Carmine street, thus releasing him from the service
of those churches. He was thereupon called to the
First Congregational Church in Burlington, Ver-
mont, which he served as its pastor, for five years,
and until he was called, by a very harmonious vote,
to the pastorate of this church.
The present membership of the church is three
hundred and fifty-seven.
The officers are as follows :
PASTOR :
ELDRIDGE MIX.
RULING ELDERS:
JONATHAN S. WILLIAMS, WILLIAM H. DAYTON,
SMITH WILLIAMS, EDGAR P. STARR,
CHARLES R. DAY, HENRY N. BEACH,
STEPHEN WICKES, DAVID H. McCOY,
IRA HARRISON. ANDREW MASON.
174 FIRST CnURCn, ORANGE.
DEACONS :
GEORGE LINDSLEY, CHARLES N. WHITE,
HORTON D. WILLIAMS.
TRUSTEES:
HENRY A. HOWE, Pres., GEORGE LINDSLEY,
FRANCIS BACON, Sec, JOSEPH W. STICKLER,
STEPHEN T. SMITH, Treas., OLIVER S. CARTER,
JAMES H. HEROY.
The Sunday School numbers — scholars, 356 ;
officers and teachers, 32. Total, 388. Edgar P.
Starr, Superintendent.
The contributions to benevolent objects, during
the last two years, exclusive of the current ex-
penses of the church, have been as follows : 1867,
$2,887 75 ; 1868, $3,554 00 ; Total, S6,441 75.
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