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HISTORY 


^irdt    f  reAouterian     L^nurcn 

WOODBRIDGE,  NEW  JERSEY 


300  tn ^nniuersaru 


MAY  25,   1975 


1675  1975 

'FREE  PUBLIC  UMPm 

OF  WOOOBRiOGE 

Mm  UBRARY 

GEORGE  FREOEBiCK  PLAZA 

WOODBRfOOE,  UJ.  07095 


Edited  by 
Martha  Morrow 
Edward  E.   Baker 

The  Tercentenary  Seal  is  adapted 
from  a  design  submitted  by 
Miss  Cathy  Briegs 

Printed  by 

Hoffman  Printing  Corp. 

Carteret,  N.  J. 

REFERENCE  USE  ONLY 


P4 


ctce 


"The  history  of  a  nation,"  Woodrow  Wilson  once  said,  is  "the 
history  of  its  villages."  Since  the  church  was  the  very  heart  of  village 
life,  the  early  history  of  a  settlement  is  inseparable  from  that  of  its 
church. 

During  the  period  of  colonization,  church  and  state  were  not  sepa- 
rate entities  as  we  know  them  today.  The  church,  often  referred  to 
as  "The  Meeting  House,"  was  indeed  the  place  where  town  meetings 
were  held  and  in  which  the  townspeople  assembled  to  both  worship 
and  govern.    In  this,  Woodbridge  was  no  exception. 

In  reviewing  the  "Old  Town  Book"  in  which  is  recorded  the  pro- 
ceedings of  town  meetings  of  the  1660's  and  1670's,  we  find  land 
grants,  court  business,  calls  to  clergymen  and  plans  for  building  a 
meeting  house  all  commingled.  The  Charter  of  Woodbridge,  1669, 
provided  that  200  acres  of  land  be  set  aside  for  the  Kirk,  the  Kirk 
green  and  the  use  of  the  minister  and  that  a  tax  be  levied  to  pay  the 
salary  of  the  minister.  In  1676,  the  town  was  assessed  to  defray  the 
cost  of  building  a  meeting  house,  which  was  to  become  the  First  Pres- 
byterian Church  of  Woodbridge. 

So  thus  it  is  that  one  publishes  little  volumes  such  as  this  to  show 
the  genesis  of  a  village  and  the  heritage  of  a  people.  We  do  so  not 
without  pride  and  satisfaction,  pointing  to  300  years  (1675-1975)  of 
continuous  service  to  this  community;  saying  with  Wordsworth,  We 
"seem  of  cheerful  yesterdays  and  confident  tomorrows." 


The  Editors 


CONTENTS 

Page 

Pastors    i 

Chapter  1,  History  1675-1775  —  Olga  B.  Howell 1 

Chapter  2,  History  1775-1875  —  Marjorie  C.  Briegs 16 

Chapter  3,  History  1875-1975  —  Rev.  Lewis  E.  Bender 33 

Chapter  4,  Cemetery  —  John  M.  Kreger 49 

Section  1,  Puritan  Funerary  Art 49 

Section  2,  First  Families  or  Early  Settlers 

Interred  in  Our  Cemetery 59 

Section  3,  War  Veterans  Interred 75 

Section  4,  Interments  Having  Unusual  Interest  Appeal  ...  80 

Section  5,  Town  Doctors  Interred  in  Our  Cemetery 86 

Section  6,  Former  Pastors  Interred  in  Our  Cemetery 89 

Section  7,  Epitaphs  on  Tombstones  in  Our  Cemetery 92 

Section  8,  Miscellaneous  Comments 96 

Chapter  5,  Church  Organizations    101 

White  Church  Guild  —  Marjorie  F.  Lockie 101 

Ladies  Aid  —  Evelyn  K.  Kreger 103 

United  Presbyterian  Women  —  Emma  Aaroe 105 

Sunday  Church  School  —  Gloria  Peterson 108 


[  adtord 


1670  (six  months)    Rev.  Samuel  Treat  ^ 

1674  (three  months) Rev.  Benjamen  Salisbury 

1680-1685 Rev.  John  Allm  ^ 

1686-1689 Rev.  Archibald  RiddeU  ^ 

1695-1707 Rev.  Samuel  Shepard  = 

1707-171 1   '.  Rev.  Nathaniel  Wade 

1714-1752 Rev.  John  Pierson 

1755-1760 Rev.  Nathaniel  Whitaker 

1763-1815 Rev.  Azel  Roe 

1816-1821   Rev.  Henry  Mills 

1822-1852 Rev.  Wilham  B.  Barton 

1852-1863 Rev.  Wilham  M.  Martin 

1863-1873 Rev.  George  C.  Lucas 

1874-1906 Rev.  Joseph  M.  McNulty 

1907-1918 Rev.  Robert  W.  Mark 

1918-1925 Rev.  Leonard  V.  Buschman 

1925-1927 Rev.  Leroy  Y.  Dillener,  Sr. 

1927-1933 Rev.  Ernest  A.  Abbott 

1933-1959 Rev.  Earl  H.  Devanny 

1959-1967 Rev.  Alex  N.  Nemeth 

1967-  Rev.  Lewis  E.  Bender  ^ 


1.  Names  and  dates  compiled  from  primary  sources. 

2.  The  list  is  comprised  of  those  who  contracted  to  be  the  "Minister"  of  the  Church. 
There  were  many  others  such  as  Rev.  George  Gillespie  (1712),  Rev.  Howard 
Augustine  (1932),  and  Rev.  Kenneth  M.  Kepler  (1942-1945)  who  served  as 
"Interim"  or  "Supply"  Pastors. 

3.  Sometimes   incorrectly  spelled  "Allen". 

4.  Sometimes  incorrectly  spelled  "Riddle". 

5.  Sometimes  incorrectly  spelled  "Sheppard". 

6.  The  list  was  compiled  by  Rev.  Bender. 


1675-  1775 


"Established  1675"  reads  a  sign  on  the  front  of  the  First  Presby- 
terian Church  of  Woodbridge.  This  is  a  matter  of  some  pride  and 
satisfaction  to  many  who  invest  antiquity  with  all  things  good  and 
wise.  A  more  practical  value  can  be  put  on  an  existence  of  some  300 
years.  The  useful,  continuing  service  to  this  community  which  has 
grown  to  a  population  of  near  100,000  cannot  be  measured. 

Although  the  history  of  a  church  normally  begins  with  the  start 
of  regularly  held  services  under  the  leadership  of  an  ordained  minister, 
our  church  has  several  alternate  options.  We  might  have  selected  the 
year  1667,  the  date  when  the  articles  of  agreement  were  confirmed 
which  included  provision  for  the  building  of  a  church  and  the  allot- 
ment of  land  for  the  minister.  Or  we  might  have  chosen  June  8,  1669 
when  two  citizens  were  commissioned  at  a  town  meeting  to  secure  a 
minister.  However,  May  27,  1675,  the  frame  of  the  meeting  house 
was  erected;  and  it  is  this  date  which  has  been  chosen  as  the  real  be- 
ginning of  our  church.  In  1676,  the  town  was  assessed  to  defray  the 
expenses  of  the  building. 

The  attainment  of  a  minister  met  with  many  an  obstacle  and  it 
was  not  until  September,  1680,  that  the  services  of  Mr.  John  Allin 
were  procured.  At  this  point  it  might  be  well  to  note  the  very  close 
relationship  between  church  and  state;  church  matters  and  secular 
matters  were  truly  one.  A  voluntary  subscription  plan,  adopted  in 
1680,  was  discarded  the  following  year  when  it  was  ordered  that  the 
minister's  salary  be  raised  in  the  same  manner  as  other  taxes.  In  Janu- 
ary, 1681,  it  was  voted  that  Mr.  Allin  be  their  choice  of  permanent 
pastor  and  that  he  be  made  a  freeholder  if  he  would  stay.  The  next 
November  he  was  presented  with  a  house  and  ten  acres. 

"This  is  a  fair  place  set  in  green  meadows  beside  clear  sparkhng 
water  with  a  good  stand  of  timber  nearby,  with  excellent  protected 
water  for  shipping."  Thus  wrote  an  early  promoter  to  folks  back  home 
in  England  early  in  the  development  of  the  New  Jersey  colony  in  an 
effort  to  entice  more  settlers  to  cross  the  stormy  seas. 


However,  the  desire  to  cast  their  lot  in  the  New  World  may  have 
sprung  not  so  much  from  the  "green  meadows"  as  from  the  religious 
oppression  and  persecution  widespread  in  Europe  during  the  Seven- 
teenth century. 

In  1665,  James,  Duke  of  York,  heir  to  the  throne  of  England, 
granted  title  to  the  province  of  New  Jersey  and  the  right  to  govern  it 
to  Lord  John  Berkeley  and  Sir  George  Cartaret.  They  appointed  Phihp 
Cartaret  as  Governor  who  sent  agents  to  New  England  to  seek  settlers 
for  the  New  Jersey  colony. 

A  number  of  willing  emigrants  were  found  in  Newbury,  Mass., 
presumably  through  the  efforts  of  John  Woodbridge,  an  original  settler 
of  Newbury  and  a  man  of  long  standing  influence  in  that  community, 
having  served  in  many  capacities  including  surveyor,  teacher,  town 
clerk,  magistrate  and  at  that  time  Assistant  Pastor  of  the  church.  The 
admiration  and  affection  held  for  him  was  made  abundantly  clear  when 
the  emigrants  named  their  new  settlement  Woodbridge,  New  Jersey, 
in  honor  of  this  great  man.  Articles  were  drawn  up  on  December  1 1 , 
1666.  "The  contract  was  between  Capt.  Philip  Cartaret,  Governor  of 
the  Province  of  New  Jersey,  John  Ogden,  and  Duke  Watson  of  Eliza- 
bethtown  of  the  first  part  and  Daniel  Pierce  of  Newbury,  Massachusetts 
and  his  associates  of  the  second  part."  Daniel  Pierce  paid  to  the  party 
of  the  first  part  the  sum  of  four  score  pounds  sterling,  being  in  full  for 
said  tract  of  land  known  by  the  name  of  Arthur  Cull  or  Amboyle,  or 
any  other  name  it  may  be  called  by.  This  land  was  purchased  from 
the  natives  or  Indians  by  John  Bayly,  Daniel  Denton,  and  the  said  Luke 
Watson  as  by  said  bill  of  sale  from  the  natives,  bearing  date  of  October 
28,  1664;  which  same  then  made  over  to  Philip  Cartaret  and  John 
Ogden.  Daniel  Pierce  made  choice  of  as  his  associates  Joshua  Pierce, 
John  Pike,  John  Bishop,  Henry  Jacques  and  Hugh  March  of  Newbury; 
Stephen  Kent  of  Haverhill;  Robert  Dennis  of  Yarmouth;  John  Smith 
of  Barnstable  in  New  England. 

The  articles  of  agreement  were  confirmed  by  a  deed  dated  De- 
cember 3,  1667,  on  which  day  Daniel  Pierce  was  commissioned  to  be 
Deputy  Surveyor  to  run  boundary  lines  and  lay  out  lands  to  the  dif- 
ferent associates.  These  articles  gave  permission  to  settle  one  or  two 
plantations  consisting  of  forty  to  one  hundred  famihes  in  the  area  be- 
tween the  Rahway  River  and  the  Raritan  River.  Provision  was  made 
for  making  land  grants  to  settlers,  for  choosing  magistrates  and  miU- 
tary  officers,  for  electing  deputies  to  the  colony's  General  Assembly. 
Land  was  specifically  allotted  for  the  ministry  and  for  the  building  of 
a  church.  About  one  third  of  the  tract  was  sold  to  emigrants  from 
New  Hampshire,  which  became  the  township  of  Piscataway. 


Rev.  John  Woodbridge 


The  following  persons  received  patents  from  the  Proprietors  prin- 
cipally in  the  year  1670  for  lands  within  the  township  of  Woodbridge, 
and  were  all,  it  is  believed,  actual  settlers.  The  nine  original  associ- 
ates were  allowed  to  retain  two  hundred  forty  acres  of  upland  and 
forty  acres  of  meadow  land  in  addition  to  the  regular  allotment  to 
each  Freeholder,  but  the  first  division  is  not  recorded. 

The  nine  associates  are: 

John  Bishop  Joshua  Pierce 

Robert  Dennis  John  Smith  "Wheelwright" 

Henry  Jacques  Hugh  March 

John  Pike  Stephen  Kent 

Daniel  Pierce 

Additional  settlers  for  that  year  are: 

Daniel  Robins  Jonathan  Bishop 

Isaac  Tappan  James  Clawson  or  Clarkson 

Robert  Rogers  Jonathan  Dennis 

Thomas  Adams  Hopewell  Hull 

John  Averill  Thomas  Pike 

As  the  settlers  arrived,  the  land  was  divided,  roads  laid  out,  and 
the  community  established.  The  life  of  the  town  was  quiet,  principally 
agricultural.  John  Smith,  wheelwright,  was  moderator  of  the  town 
meetings  which  were  held  in  his  home.  Township  court  named  John 
Pike,  Samuel  Moore,  and  John  Bishop  as  constables  between  1671 
and  1693.  Samuel  Hale  was  marshal;  and  the  clerk  was  Jonathan 
Dunham.  Many  trades  and  vocations  were  present  among  the  early 
Woodbridge  inhabitants.  There  were  carpenters,  masons,  wheelwrights, 
a  dealer  in  bricks,  a  blacksmith,  a  shoemaker,  two  doctors. 

Charters  were  asked  for  by  both  Woodbridge  and  Piscataway  in 
which  the  residents  were  to  have  the  privilege  of  choosing  their  own 
magistrate  and  military  officers.  They  were  empowered  to  hold  courts 
for  trial.  This  early  Woodbridge  charter,  dated  June  1,  1669,  stated 
that  liberty  of  conscience  in  religious  worship  was  to  be  allowed  and 
two  hundred  acres  of  land  were  to  be  set  aside  for  the  perpetual  main- 
tenance of  the  ministry.  Provision  was  made  for  a  church  and  the 
churchyard  to  be  exempt  forever  from  tax  of  any  kind.  The  Governor, 
Council,  and  General  Assembly  were  the  joint  authority  for  levying 
tax,  but  were  to  do  it  only  for  the  pubUc  good.  The  yearly  rent  of 
half-penny  per  acre  to  the  Lords-proprietors  was  to  begin  March  25, 
1670,  thus  giving  the  inhabitants  nearly  four  years  of  exemption.    All 


land  patents  were  to  be  recorded  within  a  year  of  the  time  of  survey- 
ing. In  case  of  war,  Woodbridge  and  Piscataway  men  agreed  to  com- 
bine with  other  towns  in  the  Province  against  the  common  foe.  All 
freeholders  were  to  have  a  "free  voice"  in  the  election  of  Deputies  to 
the  General  Assembly.  They  swore  allegiance  to  the  King  and  pledged 
their  fidelity  to  the  Proprietors.  They  claimed  the  privilege  of  moving 
when  and  where  they  pleased  and  of  seUing  their  land  to  the  best  ad- 
vantage. They  were  to  have  the  necessary  authority  to  impose  fines 
upon  criminals  and  to  inflict  punishment.  Seven  years  possession  of 
the  land  was  to  secure  the  same  to  the  settler,  his  heirs,  or  assigns 
forever.  The  democratic  doctrine  of  a  ruling  majority  is  set  forth  in 
the  document. 

In  spite  of  a  lovely  setting  and  a  potentially  prosperous  com- 
munity, it  was  very  hard  to  persuade  a  minister  to  come  to  live  among 
the  early  settlers. 

At  a  town  meeting,  June  8,  1669,  Geo.  Little  and  Samuel  Moore 
were  directed  to  go  to  Newark  to  interview  'young  Mr.  Pierson'  and 
"endeavor  to  get  him  to  be  our  minister."  The  elder  Mr.  Pierson  was 
pastor  of  the  Newark  congregation  and  the  freeholders  of  that  com- 
munity had  decided  to  install  the  son  as  an  assistant. 

In  July,  a  committee  approached  a  Mr.  Peck  of  Elizabethtown; 
but  he,  too,  proved  uninterested.  Mr.  Samuel  Treat  was  offered  twenty 
one  pounds  sterling  for  preaching  the  next  six  months. 

The  7th  of  February,  1 67 1 ,  it  was  ordered  a  house  lot  and  "other 
accommodations  equal  to  those  of  other  inhabitants  be  reserved  for  the 
use  of  a  minister."  Permission  was  given  Jonathan  Dunham  to  mow 
the  grass  on  the  parsonage  meadow  for  four  years  or  until  a  minister 
should  come." 

December,  1671,  saw  the  selection  of  yet  another  committee  of 
eight  members  to  decide  what  must  be  done  to  obtain  ministerial  serv- 
ices. It  was  decided  they  must  have  a  settled  ministry.  They  approached 
Mr.  Samuel  Treat  to  secure  his  services  permanently  but  were  un- 
successful. 

Mr.  Benjamin  Salisbury  accepted  the  offer;  but  after  one  month, 
the  town  voted  to  dismiss  him. 

Hoping  to  improve  their  luck,  they  voted  to  build  a  meeting  house, 
which  was  to  be  thirty  feet  square,  and  appointed  a  committee  to  con- 
tract for  the  suitable  complement  of  carpenters. 

It  was  also  arranged  that  a  room  be  fitted  in  the  home  of  Mr. 
Samuel  Hale  or  Samuel  Moore  to  be  offered  to  the  minister  whenever 
he  should  come. 


Lots  were  drawn  and  Samuel  Dennis  was  designated  to  "go  North- 
ward to  seek  a  minister."  Since  money  was  not  abundant,  3000  pipe 
staves  were  made  to  defray  the  expenses.  These  staves,  which  were 
made  in  some  quantity  in  Woodbridge,  were  used  in  making  barrels 
and  kegs.  Unfortunately,  the  staves  were  sold,  but  no  record  exists 
that  Samuel  Dennis  went  anywhere. 

A  number  of  years  later,  the  town  asked  Capt.  Andrew  Bound, 
a  ship's  master  of  a  vessel  sailing  between  England  and  the  Colonies, 
to  carry  letters  to  clergy  in  England.  He  was  authorized  to  seek  out 
a  minister  in  case  the  letters  drew  no  response  and  to  offer  fifty  pounds 
a  year  and  the  use  of  two  hundred  acres  of  parsonage  land. 

The  raising  of  our  first  building  occurred,  as  already  stated,  on 
May  27,  1675.  There  seems  to  have  been  a  cessation  of  operations  as 
to  "internal  improvements"  for  about  five  years.  Not  until  1680  or 
1681  was  the  floor  laid  and  the  interior  was  ordered  to  be  plastered 
on  all  but  the  south  side  over  the  clapboards.  Why  this  singular  omis- 
sion in  plastering  is  not  explained.  About  a  year  later  a  determined 
effort  was  made  toward  completion.  It  was  ordered  to  be  daubed, 
lathed  and  plastered.  Two  doors  were  made  and  fitted  with  locks.  This 
early  building  was  described  by  McNulty  as  "a  building  about  thirty 
feet  square,  unpainted  inside  or  out  with  no  steeple  or  bell  without, 
and  no  stove  within.  At  one  side  a  long  pew  for  the  accommodation 
of  the  public  officers  of  the  place,  and  on  the  other,  similar  pews  run- 
ning parallel  with  the  walls,  which,  it  was  said,  were  much  sought 
after,  as  one  eye  could  be  directed  toward  the  minister,  and  the  other 
t©  anything  that  might  require  attention  in  the  other  part  of  the  house. 

In  1697  the  "galaries  were  finished."  In  1698  "the  walls  of  the 
building  were  to  be  whitewashed  by  John  Pike,  member  of  the  as- 
sembly and  clerk  of  the  corporation."  Ezekiel  Bloomfield  was  also 
"to  build  a  new  pulpit  forthwith."  This  circular  pulpit  supported  by 
a  pedestal  placed  the  minister  above  the  congregation,  beneath  the 
time-honored  sounding  board.  Ezekiel  Bloomfield  was  ex-assemblyman 
and,  a  little  later,  keeper  of  the  pound.  So  it  must  be  noted  that  public 
functionaries,  in  those  days,  did  not  consider  that  any  honorable  em- 
ployment, however  humble,  would  compromise  their  dignity. 

Two  pillars  supported  the  roof  from  the  center,  which  went  up 
on  four  sides  -ending,  at  this  time,  in  a  small  steeple.  The  sexton,  in 
ringing  the  bell,  stood  in  the  middle  aisle,  winding  the  rope  around 
one  of  the  pillars  during  the  service. 

The  church  was  never  desecrated  with  stoves,  but  in  the  midst 
of  winter  the  good  people  kept  up  what  heat  they  could  by  an  occa- 


sional  stamp  on  the  floor,  and  tradition  says  the  "dominee  would  keep 
warm  by  an  extra  amount  of  gesture." 

This  building  stood  until  1  802,  when  it  was  taken  down  to  give 
way  to  a  new  place  of  worship. 

Some  time  in  1685,  the  good  Mr.  AUin  severed  connections  with 
the  Woodbridge  congregation.  Perhaps  his  health  suft'ered;  the  records 
do  not  say.  He  lived  in  Woodbridge  until  he  died  in  January,  1715. 
He  was  married  three  times;  his  last  wife  was  Deliverance  Potter. 

In  October,  1686,  Mr.  Archibald  Riddell,  of  Scotland,  was  en- 
couraged to  settle  here  and  to  be  the  minister.  He  was  granted  eight 
acres  of  land  "adjoining  the  meeting  house  and  fronting  on  the  high- 
way that  runs  west  from  the  kirk  green."  He  was  admitted  as  a  Free- 
holder and  granted  one  hundred  twenty  acres  of  upland  for  a  farm 
and  ten  more  for  planting,  all  of  which  he  enjoyed  tax  free.  Upon  his 
departure  in  1689  he  returned  to  the  town  the  eight  acres  and  a  house 
he  started  to  build.  In  1700  he  disposed  of  his  Woodbridge  land  to 
Thomas  Gordon.  In  the  deed  he  is  referred  to  as  the  minister  of  the 
gospel  of  Kirkaldie  in  county  Fife. 

After  several  years  of  searching,  the  Woodbridge  congregation 
was  able  to  secure  the  services  of  Mr.  Samuel  Shepard  as  their  min- 
ister. Spiritual  affairs  seem  to  have  greatly  prospered  under  his  lead- 
ership. His  salary  was  fifty  pounds  per  annum,  or  its  equivalent,  which 
could  have  been  pork,  peas,  wheat,  or  the  like.  This  was  raised  by 
direct  tax  on  the  townsmen,  Mr.  Samuel  Dennis  and  Jonathan  Bishop 
being  appointed  to  receive  it. 

About  this  time  we  read  in  the  town  records  a  freeman  of  the 
town,  William  Webster,  objected  to  the  tax  for  the  minister's  salary 
on  grounds  of  conscientious  scrupies.  Whereupon  Capt.  John  Bishop 
assumed  the  man's  share  of  the  annual  rate  during  his  (Bishop's)  hfe- 
time.  Although  this  is  the  first  record  of  a  decided  stand  against  the 
tax,  it,  no  doubt,  had  been  a  matter  of  private  discussion  for  a  time. 
There  would  eventually  be  a  division  of  civil  and  religious  matters 
with  the  church  shouldering  the  cost  of  its  ministry. 

The  situation  in  New  Jersey  was  different  from  that  in  Scotland 
or  England,  or  even  New  England.  The  original  proprietors  of  the 
colony  were  Anglican,  but  as  landlords  they  needed  settlers  to  make 
the  colony  prosper.  So  all  the  early  agreements  and  charters  provided 
that  no  one  would  be  persecuted  for  his  religious  belief  as  long  as 
there  was  no  civil  disturbance.  The  colony  of  New  Jersey  was  not  to 
have  an  established  church  —  there  were  Baptists  at  Middletown  and 


Piscataway;  Quakers  at  Shrewsbury;  Reformed  at  Bergen;  Puritans  at 
Elizabethtown,  Newark,  and  Woodbridge;  and  Presbyterians  at  Free- 
hold. Although  each  settlement  had  its  own  church  supported  by  pub- 
lic taxation,  the  passage  of  time  brought  the  founding  of  different 
churches  within  the  same  community,  and  the  financial  support  for  the 
ministry  came  to  be  based  not  on  public  taxation  but  on  subscription 
of  the  members. 

May,  1696,  saw  Mr.  Shepard  determined  to  go  to  New  England 
to  visit.  The  town  offered  him  a  house,  which  had  been  started  by 
Mr.  Riddell,  and  thirty  acres  of  land  on  condition  he  should  return. 
Return  he  did.    We  find  him  preaching  in  Woodbridge  for  some  years. 

In  1701,  a  committee  was  directed  to  confer  with  him  on  the 
matter  of  his  being  ordained  as  minister  of  the  town.  However,  at  this 
point,  his  wife  flatly  declared  against  setthng  permanently  in  Wood- 
bridge.  He  told  them  there  was  no  possibility  of  her  changing  her  mind 
and  they  best  look  out  for  a  new  pastor. 

In  1707  Nathaniel  Wade  came  to  Woodbridge  and  began  a  rather 
stormy  ministry.  He  was  a  Boston  Congregationalist  whose  decided 
opinions  and  imperious  bearing  stirred  up  considerable  conflict  within 
the  congregation. 

The  first  entry  in  the  church  record,  written  by  Mr.  Wade  himself 
following  his  ordination  and  installation  in  January,  1708,  read  thus: 

"January  29th,  1707/8,  Was  gathered  the  Church  of  Christ  in 
Woodbridge  by  Nathaniel  Wade,  pastor.  Present  there  were  as  Mes- 
sengers, two  from  ye  church  of  Newark,  and  one  from  the  Church  of 
Elizabethtown:  Theophilus  Pierson,  Jonahs  Wood,  Benjamin  Price. 
The  foundation  of  ye  church  was  laid  first  upon  three  persons  who  had 
been  Communicants  in  other  churches,  viz:  Sam'l  Hail,  John  Pike,  and 
Noah  Bishop." 

It  became  clear  that  Mr.  Wade  had  organized  the  church  accord- 
ing to  the  pattern  of  the  Congregational  Church.  Included  among  the 
church  members  at  this  time  was  an  increasing  number  of  Scotch-Irish 
immigrants  who  were  confirmed  Presbyterians  as  well  as  others  who 
leaned  toward  the  Church  of  England. 

The  congregational  convictions  of  Mr.  Wade  so  angered  some  of 
the  parishioners  that  an  appeal  was  made  to  the  Presbytery  of  Phila- 
delphia for  aid  in  the  matter. 

The  earliest  extant  records  of  Presbytery,  which  had  been  founded 
in  1706,  include  Woodbridge  as  a  church  under  its  jurisdiction  and 


show  thai  in  May   1708,  efforts  were  being  made  to  resolve  the  dif- 
ferences between  Mr.  Wade  and  tiie  people  of  Woodbridge. 

The  church  rolls  at  the  beginning  of  Mr.  Wade's  pastorate  showed 
forty-seven  members,  increasing  to  sixty-seven  in  1  709,  and  to  seventy- 
five  in  1710.  This  increase  in  membership,  undoubtedly  of  Presby- 
terian faith,  served  to  augment  the  battle  which  raged  on,  with  the 
Presbytery  keeping  their  hands  in  the  furor.  Even  though  Mr.  Wade 
became  a  Presbyterian  in  September  1710,  his  effort  did  not  settle  the 
dispute. 

In  1711  the  differences  between  Mr.  Wade  and  one  segment  of 
the  congregation  reached  a  climax,  causing  a  secession  from  the  church. 
These  people  sent  to  Eli^^SitSt^^fiVfor  a  Rev.  Edward  Vaughan  to 
help  them  establish  aH^piscopahan  ohurch. 

The  Presbytery  ^i^ihis  time,  in-^Hpr  to  resolve  the  various  dis- 
putes, suggested  Mr.  Wade  sever  ministerial  relations  with  Woodbridge; 
however,  his  name  appears  on  town  records  until  January,  1714. 

When  the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia  was  founded  in  1706  under 
the  leadership  of  Francis  Makemie,  a  Scotch  Presbyterian  missionary, 
who  came  to  America  in  the  1680's,  the  New  Jersey  and  Long  Island 
churches  rapidly  sought  admission.  By  1716  the  Presbytery  had  forty 
churches  claiming  3,000  members.  Increasing  migration  of  Scotch- 
Irish  confirmed  the  trend  toward  Presbyterianism. 

In  1729  the  Synod  (organized  in  1717)  adopted  as  its  standard 
of  doctrinal  belief,  the  Westminister  Confession  of  Faith  of  1647,  with 
the  statement  that  ministers  were  to  subscribe  to  its  "necessary  and 
essential  articles." 

Since  neither  Presbytery  nor  Synod  had  any  connection  with  the 
church  in  Scotland,  this  action  established  an  exclusively  American 
church  authority,  completely  separate  from  Europe  and  long  before 
this  occurred  on  most  other  denominations. 

The  Reverend  John  Pierson  succeeded  to  the  pastorate  of  the 
Woodbridge  church  in  1714.  He  was  the  son  of  Reverend  Abraham 
Pierson  of  Killingworth,  Connecticut,  the  first  President  of  Yale  Col- 
lege, and  the  grandson  of  John  Pierson,  the  first  minister  of  the  Newark 
Church.  It  is  supposed  that  Reverend  Jonathan  Dickinson,  his  close 
friend,  who  was  the  celebrated  Independent  preacher  of  Elizabethtown, 
introduced  young  Pierson's  name  to  the  Woodbridge  congregation. 
Mr.  Pierson  was  married  to  Ruth  Woodbridge,  daughter  of  Reverend 
Timothy  Woodbridge  of  Hartford,  Connecticut,  and  granddaughter  of 
John  Woodbridge  of  Newbury,  Mass.    She  died  in  1732. 


Mr.  Pierson's  arrival  rapidly  smoothed  over  the  quarrel  that  had 
occurred  over  Nathaniel  Wade.  John  Pierson  in  his  years  at  Wood- 
bridge,  .until  1752,  became  one  of  the  colony's  outstanding  ministers, 
taking  a  leading  role  in  Synod  affairs,  sympathetic  to  the  ideas  of  the 
Great  Awakening,  and  active  in  helping  the  church  to  solve  the  prob- 
lems that  the  revival  raised.  He  was  instrumental  in  founding  the  Col- 
lege of  New  Jersey  for  the  training  of  Presbyterian  ministers,  and  ef- 
fective in  furthering  the  process  of  Americanization  through  his  ability 
to  relate  his  theological  training  to  the  conditions  of  colonial  society. 
Within  his  congregation,  he  acquired  a  reputation  of  being  a  strict 
disciplinarian. 

It  was  some  time  in  the  early  years  of  Pierson's  ministry  that  the 
first  meeting  house  was  built  in  Metuchen.  The  first  entry  in  their 
Session  Book  reads: 

"A.D.  1717.  There  was  a  small  church  built  in  the  north 
west  part  of  the  township  of  Woodbridge  called  Metuchen  for  the 
purposes  of  preaching  lectures  in  every  fourth  week  on  week  day 
by  the  Rev.  Mr.  John  Pierson  then  minister  of  the  First  Pres- 
byterian congregation  in  the  township  aforesaid  to  which  con- 
gregation we  were  then  united." 

In  the  first  half  of  the  eighteenth  century,  because  of  expanding 
population,  the  absence  of  an  established  church,  and  the  influence  of 
the  religious  upheaval  known  as  the  Great  Awakening,  many  new 
churches  began  to  be  founded  as  new  centers  of  rural  population  began 
to  form.  So  the  Rahway  Church  was  founded  in  the  1740's  by  Wood- 
bridge  communicants,  and  Westfield  split  off  from  Elizabeth  in  1727. 
With  this  growth  the  church  as  a  whole  underwent  periodic  reorgani- 
zation. In  1733  the  Presbytery  of  East  Jersey  was  created;  and  in 
1738,  six  churches  in  East  Jersey,  including  Woodbridge,  and  eight 
on  Long  Island  united  to  form  the  Presbytery  of  New  York,  which 
was  soon  to  become  one  of  the  Synod's  leading  Presbyteries. 

The  Great  Awakening  of  the  1730's  and  1740's  was  an  important 
influence  leading  to  the  establishment  of  new  churches  and  the  re- 
vitalization  of  old  ones.  After  the  first  impulse  of  new  colonization  in 
the  seventeenth  century,  a  widespread  indifference  to  the  church  as  a 
moral  force  in  colonial  life  set  in.  Frontier  life  was  hard  and  unre- 
warding; there  were  no  educational  institutions,  little  social  activity, 
frequent  competition  and  disputes  over  land  ownership,  much  callous- 
ness, and  little  kindness.  Many  ministers,  clinging  to  old  ideas,  did 
not  adapt  themselves  or  their  ideas  to  American  conditions.  The  Re- 
vival was  an  appeal  to  the  individual  on  the  need  for  an  active  faith, 

10 


the  leading  of  a  holy  life,  and  working  to  realize  the  kingdom  of  God. 
It  emphasized  man's  sinful  nature,  tried  to  make  understandable  the 
terror  of  not  being  a  True  Christian,  and  preached  the  need  for  re- 
pentance and  regeneration  by  the  divine  spirit.  It  was  critical  of  out- 
moded orthodoxy  and  irrelevant  formalism,  and  it  deplored  the  moral 
degeneration  it  found  everywhere.  Revival  preaching  was  confined  to 
established  church  services,  usually  Sunday  morning  and  afternoon  and 
one  weekday  afternoon,  and  it  emphasized  not  immediate  conversion 
but  the  need  for  individual  struggle  with  conscience,  aided  by  frequent 
pastoral  visiting  and  counsel.  Only  by  a  mighty  struggle  within  himself 
could  sinful  man  know  repentance  and  true  faith. 

Some  of  Gilbert  Tennent's  sermon  titles  were;  "The  Danger  of 
Forgetting  God;"  "The  Necessity  of  Religious  Violence;"  "A  Solemn 
Warning  to  the  Secure  World."  It  was  a  movement  to  make  the  role 
of  religion  a  real  and  vital  thing  in  the  Hfe  of  the  individual.  It  was 
another  important  step  in  the  Americanization  of  Christianity,  and  in 
New  Jersey,  particularly,  of  the  Presbyterian  church. 

The  strongest  center  of  the  revival  was  the  Presbytery  of  New 
Brunswick,  where  three  of  the  sons  of  William  Tennent  were  all  active. 
John  and  William  Tennent  Jr.  at  Freehold,  and  Gilbert  Tennent  at 
New  Brunswick.  Gilbert's  sermons  were  designed  to  change  the  smug- 
ness of  self-satisfaction  into  new  dedication  to  do  God's  work.  Jona- 
than Dickinson  of  Elizabeth  was  another  exponent  of  the  new  way. 
Both  Dickinson  and  Tennent  preached  at  Woodbridge,  where  Pierson 
and  his  congregation  were  receptive  to  the  revivalists. 

The  activities  of  these  men  flung  a  challenge  at  established  ways 
that  was  bound  to  evoke  controversy.  At  least  three  major  issues 
emerged  that  were  to  cause  serious  division  within  the  church. 

One  was  the  fact  that  many  of  the  revivalists  wanted  to  preach  in 
other  pulpits  than  their  own,  where  they  could  stir  up  the  people  even 
if  their  own  minister  was  unsympathetic.  An  outstanding  example  of 
this  itinerant  preaching  was  set  in  New  Jersey  by  George  Whitefield, 
the  great  English  evangelist,  who  came  to  the  colonies  in  1739  and 
on  Pierson's  invitation,  preached  in  Woodbridge  on  April  28,  1740, 
to  an  open  air  congregation  of  about  2,000  people  outside  the  church. 
His  powerful  voice  and  dramatic  appeal  for  a  new  birth  in  Christ  were 
to  influence  deeply  many  congregations  throughout  the  middle  colonies. 

A  second  issue  revolved  around  the  need  for  liberalization  in  the 
training  of  candidates  for  the  ministry,  in  particularly  the  need  to  ex- 
amine candidates  as  to  their  experimental  acquaintance  with  religion. 
It  was  largely  to  meet  this  need  that  William  Tennent  Sr.  founded  Log 


11 


College  in  Pennsylvania.  Some  of  the  ministers  trained  there  were 
preaching  in  other  parishes  than  their  own.  This  issue  implied  a  strong 
criticism  of  many  ministers  with  orthodox  education  and  training;  that 
is,  that  they  did  not  fully  commit  themselves  to  their  calling.  Gilbert 
Tennent's  famous  sermon  in  1739,  "The  Danger  of  an  Unconverted 
Ministry,"  charged  that  opponents  of  the  revival  had  training  and  or- 
thodoxy but  were  dead  in  heart;  they  were  not  true  shepherds  for 
their  flock.  Tennent's  flamboyant  mannerisms  and  raving  sermons  on 
hellfire  and  damnation  brought  him  much  criticism  from  more  con- 
servative clergymen. 

A  third  and  related  issue  arose  over  whether  Presbytery  or  Synod 
was  the  proper  judge  of  the  qualifications  of  ministerial  candidates. 
The  revivalists,  particularly  in  the  Presbytery  of  New  Brunswick, 
strongly  emphasized  the  authority  of  the  Presbytery  in  the  licensing  of 
preachers,  being  thus  able  to  allow  those  whose  training  had  been  at 
Log  College  to  practice  the  ministry. 

Naturally  these  challenges  did  not  go  unanswered.  In  1737  and 
1738  the  Synod  made  two  decisions  to  control  these  developments. 
It  prohibited  members  of  one  Presbytery  preaching  to  congregations 
of  another  without  an  invitation.  And  it  decided  that  candidates  for 
the  ministry  must  have  a  diploma  from  either  a  European  or  a  New 
England  college  or  apply  to  Synod  for  examination  before  a  com- 
mittee. These  decisions  were  followed  by  a  dispute  over  the  licensing 
of  a  member  of  the  New  Brunswick  Presbytery,  which  led  to  the  ex- 
pulsion of  that  Presbytery  from  the  Synod  of  Philadelphia.  Other 
advocates  of  the  new  way  eventually  withdrew  from  the  Synod  and  in 
1745  formed  the  rival  Synod  of  New  York,  with  thirteen  ministers 
from  the  Presbytery  of  New  Brunswick,  and  nine  from  the  Presbytery 
of  New  York.  John  Pierson  played  a  prominent  role  in  helping  to 
form  the  new  Synod;  he  was  later  to  be  instrumental  in  bringing  about 
the  reunion  that  occurred  in  1758. 

The  new  Synod,  representing  a  union  of  the  Tennents  and  their 
supporters  and  the  New  England  trained  men,  held  what  was  to  be- 
come the  prevaiHng  view.  To  them,  the  revival  was  the  work  of  God, 
and  a  minister  of  the  word  should  be  not  only  versed  in  doctrine  but 
Christian  in  conduct.  Their  goal  was  not  to  transplant  a  European 
church  to  America  but  to  adapt  the  church  that  they  knew  to  American 
life.  The  two  rival  Synods  were  about  equal  in  the  number  of  their 
ministers  in  1745,  but  by  the  reunion  of  1758,  the  Synod  of  New  York 
had  grown  from  twenty-three  to  seventy-three  ministers,  and  the  ortho- 
dox Synod  of  Philadelphia  had  remained  stationary.  The  largest  Pres- 
bytery was  New  York  (to  which  Woodbridge  belonged),  with  twenty- 

12 


three  ministers,  of  whom  sixteen  were  graduates  of  Yale,  and  four  of 
the  College  of  New  Jersey.  In  the  reunited  Synod  as  a  whole,  only 
lifteen  of  the  seventy-eight  ministers  were  graduates  of  universities  in 
Scotland  and  Ireland  —  another  mark  of  the  process  of  Americani- 
zation. 

Before  this  reunion  occurred,  the  Synod  of  New  York  realized 
the  immediate  need  to  establish  a  new  college  for  the  training  of  min- 
isters. The  calls  for  ministers  far  exceeded  the  available  supply,  and 
statistics  relating  to  the  period  all  showed  the  number  of  vacant  pulpits 
almost  as  large  as  the  number  of  filled  ones.  Log  College  had  not 
proven  sullicient  to  fill  the  need.  Accordingly  in  1745,  four  prominent 
ministers  of  the  Synod,  all  favorable  to  the  Great  Awakening,  petitioned 
the  governor  of  New  Jersey,  Lewis  Morris,  to  found  a  college.  The 
four  were  John  Pierson,  thirty  years  at  Woodbridge;  Jonathan  Dick- 
inson, already  thirty-six  years  at  Elizabeth;  Ebenezer  Pemberton,  at 
New  York  for  eighteen  years;  and  Aaron  Burr,  at  Newark  for  nine 
years.  Because  of  traditional  Anglican  hostility,  Morris  refused;  but 
an  interim  governor,  John  Hamilton,  granted  a  charter  in  1746,  and 
a  revised  one  was  granted  in  1748  by  Governor  Jonathan  Belcher. 
The  College  of  New  Jersey  first  met  in  Dickinson's  parsonage  in  Eliza- 
beth, then  in  Burr's  in  Newark,  and  finally  in  1756  moved  to  the  town 
of  Princeton.  All  but  one  of  the  clerical  members  of  its  Board  of 
Trustees  were  members  of  the  Synod  of  New  York. 

So  it  was  that  John  Pierson,  minister  of  the  Woodbridge  church 
from  1714  to  1752,  grandson  of  a  Massachusetts  Congregational  min- 
ister, son  of  the  Harvard  trained  minister  of  the  Newark  church  who 
was  unsuccessfully  sought  for  Woodbridge  in  1669  and  who  later  be- 
came a  founder  and  first  president  of  Yale,  graduate  of  Yale,  became 
instrumental  in  the  founding  of  Princeton,  and  for  nineteen  years  on 
its  Board  of  Trustees.  So  much  has  one  family  in  one  church  con- 
tributed to  the  cause  of  higher  education.  Mr.  Pierson  left  Wood- 
bridge  in  1752  to  preach  in  Mendham,  New  Jersey  where  he  died  in 
1770,  at  the  age  of  81,  having  preached  the  Gospel  for  fifty-six  years. 

By  1760,  the  separation  from  Europe  was  complete.  The  Pres- 
byterian church  had  begun  in  the  colonies  under  conditions  lacking 
an  established  church;  in  its  Presbyteries  and  Synod  it  had  created  an 
exclusively  American  authority;  its  outlook  had  been  revitalized  by 
the  Great  Awakening;  it  had  founded  its  own  educational  institution 
to  train  its  ministers,  and  the  great  majority  of  its  ministers  were  gradu- 
ates of  the  colonial  colleges.  In  short,  well  before  the  American  Revo- 
lution, the  Presbyterian  church  had  become  an  American  institution. 
Symbolically  perhaps  this  was  marked  for  Woodbridge  by  the  decision 

13 


of  the  freeholders  in  1754  to  appoint  a  committee  to  seek  a  charter 
for  the  church,  in  order  to  preserve  in  perpetuity  the  uses  of  the  land 
according  to  the  intent  of  the  original  inhabitants,  i.  e.,  the  ground 
on  which  the  meeting  house  stood,  the  burial  ground,  and  the  par- 
s'onage  land. 

Rev.  Nathaniel  Whitaker,  a  licientate  of  the  Presbytery  of  New 
York,  succeeded  Mr.  Pierson;  he  was  ordained  and  duly  installed  De- 
cember 10,  1755.  The  congregation  applied  for  and  received  a  royal 
charter  from  George  II  of  England  in  1756.  This  action  resulted  largely 
from  the  influence  of  Mr.  Pierson.  The  charter  gave  the  trustees  legal 
possession  of  the  land  which  had  been  granted  to  them  by  the  Lord's 
Proprietors.  It  was  conveyed  to  them  by  the  Royal  Governor  Jona- 
than Belcher.  The  Church  was  thus  incorporated  as  The  First  Pres- 
byterian Church  of  Woodbridge.'  Rev.  Whitaker  asked  to  be  dismissed 
five  years  later,  and  very  little  more  is  known  of  him. 

The  original  charter  is  still  in  the  possession  of  the  Woodbridge 
church,  having  been  lost  for  a  time  but  came  to  light  in  1922  in  an 
old  safe,  which  was  put  up  for  sale  at  a  local  auction. 

In  1763,  Azel  Roe,  the  famous  rebel  clergyman  of  New  Jersey, 
came  to  Woodbridge  as  its  minister,  a  post  he  was  to  hold  fifty-two 
years  until  his  death  in  1815  at  the  age  of  seventy-seven.  A  Long 
Islander  by  birth,  he  graduated  from  the  College  of  New  Jersey  in 
1756  at  the  age  of  eighteen,  was  ordained  to  the  ministry  a  few  years 
later,  and  in   1800  received  a  Doctor  of  Divinity  degree  from  Yale. 

His  style  of  preaching  is  said  to  have  been  argumentative  and 
very  effective.  He  was  a  man  of  excellent  address  and  commanding 
presence.  A  zealous  man,  he  rode  frequently  over  to  Metuchen  to 
hold  meetings  at  private  homes.  The  Metuchen  Presbyterians  had 
for  several  years  prior  to  this  effected  some  sort  of  an  organization, 
holding  meetings  for  religious  worship  by  the  courtesy  and  with  the 
assistance  of  neighboring  ministers.  On  the  5th  of  August,  1767,  the 
Metuchen  congregation  united  with  that  of  Woodbridge,  arrangement 
being  made  to  share  Mr.  Roe's  services  equally.  In  Roe's  Manuscript 
Church  History  we  find  it  stated  that  these  churches  were  to  be  con- 
sidered as  one  in  all  things  of  an  ecclesiastical  nature;  in  their  gov- 
ernment and  discipline  to  have  but  one  Session,  but  separate  in  their 
temporalities.  Until  1793  the  Metuchen  society  was  known,  after  the 
union,  as  the  "Second  Presbyterian  Church  of  Woodbridge;"  frequently 
it  was  distinguished  as  the  "upper  congregation."  Dr.  Roe's  Manu- 
script states  further:  "Sometime  near  the  year  1790,  the  old  congre- 
gation of  the  First  Church  became  uneasy  with  their  situation,  not 


14 


satisfied  with  tiieir  union  with  the  Metuchen  or  Second  Church  that 
they  should  have  an  equal  share  in  the  labors  of  their  minister,  but 
wished  for  the  whole  of  liis  service  which  they  were  willing  and  thought 
themselves  able  to  support.  They  therefore  applied  to  the  Presbytery 
to  have  the  union  dissolved,  which  after  repeated  applications  were 
effected  though  with  some  diOiculty,  being  warmly  opposed  by  the 
Metuchen  Congregation.  They  have  since  obtained  a  minister  by  them- 
selves and  become  respectable  as  a  church.  They  have  since  put  in  a 
claim  to  be  a  part  of  the  great  Parsonage  given  as  has  already  been 
mentioned  by  the  original  proprietors  of  the  Town  for  maintenance 
and  support  of  the  Gospel  Minister.  They  have  had  their  claim  or 
right  to  said  Parsonage  tried  in  Court  of  Chancery  and  in  the  Court 
of  Appeals  and  have  lost  in  both  these  courts."  The  above  dispute 
refers  to  the  disposition  of  the  two  hundred  acres  of  land  alloted  the 
church  by  the  original  charter. 


15 


1775  -  1875 


The  second  century  in  the  history  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church 
of  Woodbridge  was  the  period  in  which  it  developed  from  being  the 
community  church,  independent  in  nature,  though  already  Presby- 
terian in  government,  into  a  distinctly  denominational  church,  con- 
servative in  character.  While  the  Woodbridge  Congregation  became 
Presbyterian  early  in  the  eighteenth  century  and  secured  a  royal  charter 
in  1756  incorporating  it  as  the  "First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Wood- 
bridge,"  as  late  as  December  30,  1801,  a  special  Town  Meeting  was 
called  "for  the  purposes  of  choosing  a  Minister  or  Ministers  of  the 
gospel  for  the  Township,  and  taking  the  opinion  of  the  inhabitants  on 
the  propriety  of  dividing  the  Great  Parsonage  Lands  .  .  ." 

Important  to  the  development  of  the  character  of  this  church  was 
its  geographical  location.  William  A.  Whitehead  in  his  "Early  History 
of  Perth  Amboy,"  published  in  1856  writes,  "At  the  period  of  the 
Revolution  the  position  of  Woodbridge  among  the  other  towns  of  the 
colony  was  far  more  important  than  at  present,  exceeding  greatly  in 
influence  many  which  now  are  far  ahead  in  the  great  race  of  progress 
.  .  .  The  town  was  then  on  the  great  thoroughfare  between  New  York 
and  Philadelphia  and  the  road  which  was  traveled  over  by  the  worthies 
of  that  day  retains  for  miles  the  characteristics  it  then  possessed." ' 
To  quote  Rev.  Dr.  Wallace  N.  Jamison,  from  the  inside  cover  of  his 
book,  Religion  in  New  Jersey.  A  Brief  History:  "Perhaps  the  greatest 
single  influence  on  New  Jersey's  religious  history,  however,  is  the 
state's  geographic  position  between  traditionally  liberal  New  York  City 
and  conservative  Philadelphia.  An  inevitable  tug-of-war  between  these 
conflicting  spheres  of  influence  prompted  the  state's  rehgious  factions 
to  try  to  resolve  for  themselves  the  basic  theories  and  questions  that 
arose.  It  is  this  very  struggle  which  forms  the  story  of  how  people 
of  one  state,  New  Jersey,  have  sought  to  discover  their  religious  iden- 
tity." The  Woodbridge  Church,  situated  enroute  between  the  two  cities 
was  in  position  to  be  influenced  by  every  trend  ecclesiastical  and  po- 
litical. Although  communication  was  slow,  travel  by  stagecoach  and 
horseback  and  boat  was  via  Woodbridge,  and  the  Inns  were  popular 
for  rest  and  refreshment,  and  news  centers  as  well.    Even  such  impor- 

16 


tant  men  as  George  Washington  and  Lafayette  were  here.  News  of 
bloodshed  at  Lexington  came  by  messenger  on  way  to  Philadelphia, 
April  23,  1775. 

Presbyterians  were  second  to  none  in  their  patriotic  devotion  to 
the  cause  of  American  independence.  This  was  true  in  the  Woodbridge 
church.  "Religious  as  well  as  economic  and  political  causes  underlay 
the  American  Revolution.  Many  non-Anglicans,  especially  the  Pres- 
byterians, were  alarmed  at  the  desire  of  the  English  Church  to  send 
a  resident  bishop  to  the  American  colonies  ,  .  .  Presbyterians  could 
not  forget  that  many  of  their  immediate  ancestors  had  come  to  America 
to  escape  persecution  from  government  supported  Anglican  prelates  in 
England,  Scotland  and  Ireland.  They  had  no  desire  to  see  similar  ca- 
lamaties  overtake  them  in  their  new  home,  and  were  ready  to  resist 
with  sword,  if  necessary.  On  the  other  hand,  most  Episcopalians  outside 
of  the  South  favored  the  'loyalist',  or  British  side,  in  the  Revolution 
against  the  'patriot',  or  American  side."  ^  Woodbridge  was  a  typical 
example.  Woodbridge  was  occupied  by  the  British,  December  2,  1776 
to  June  22,  1777.  ^  According  to  tradition,  the  Episcopal  Church, 
situated  in  a  portion  of  the  original  kirk  green  just  beyond  the  Presby- 
terian burying  ground  was  used  as  an  English  barracks  and  the  Rectory 
as  the  English  Fort.  At  this  time  a  long  list  of  Presbyterian  men  were 
volunteers  in  the  American  Army. 

"Woodbridge,  during  1776,  was  the  scene  of  the  greatest  excite- 
ment. Troops  were  constantly  passing  and  repassing  through  the  town. 
In  the  latter  part  of  the  year  the  British  had  collected  about  four  hun- 
dred head  of  cattle  and  two  hundred  sheep  in  the  place,  intending  that 
these  should  feed  their  troops  during  the  cold  weather;  but  a  company 
of  impudent  American  militia  entered  the  town  on  the  night  of  the 
11th  of  December  and  quietly  drove  John  Bull's  beef  and  mutton  into 
the  other  camp." '' 

Skirmishes  between  British  and  American  troops  were  common 
events,  and  farms  and  homes  were  raided,  often  deprived  of  their  most 
prized  possessions.  Rev.  Azel  Roe,  whose  pastorate  extended  through 
the  Revolution  and  post-war  period,  was  a  devoted  patriot.  "By  word 
and  action  he  urged  the  cause  of  liberty.  On  one  occasion  he  incited 
some  of  his  people  to  assist  the  Continental  troops  against  the  British 
at  "Blazing  Star"  landing,  and  took  part  himself.  He  was  taken  pris- 
oner at  a  subsequent  date,  and  came  by  experience  to  know  the  horrors 
of  the  'Sugar  House  Prison'  in  New  York  City."  =  Blazing  Star  Land- 
ing is  in  Carteret  which  was  once  part  of  Woodbridge. 

Difficult  times  reached  into  homes  of  church  members.  British 
soldiers  ravished  the  neighborhood.    Striking  instances  are  told  by  Mr. 


17 


Dally  in  his  Woodbridge  and  Vicinity.  For  example:  "Smith  and  Tim- 
othy Bloomfield  were  both  away  in  the  Continental  Army,  and  the  old 
homestead  and  farm  were  open  to  the  predatory  raids  of  the  enemy. 
Among  other  things  stolen  were  the  old  family  Bible  and  a  brindle 
cow.  The  precious  book  could  not  be  readily  given  up.  Eunice,  the 
daughter  of  Timothy  Bloomfield,  concluded  at  length  to  appeal  to  the 
British  Commander  on  Staten  Island  for  the  restoration  of  the  priceless 
volume.  In  company  with  another  girl,  residing  in  the  family  home, 
Eunice  started  from  home,  walking  to  the  river.  Reaching  the  shore 
they  were  non-plussed.  How  should  they  reach  the  other  side?  Not 
far  off  they  espied  an  old  scow.  Pushing  it  into  the  water  they  paddled 
across."  "  A  guard  on  the  other  side  conducted  them  to  the  officer  in 
command,  who  listened  to  their  complaint  and  not  only  restored  the 
Bible,  but  also  the  cow.  A  guard  of  soldiers  escorted  the  girls  toward 
home. 

Dally  tells  also  about  an  ancestor  of  his,  left  alone  to  care  for 
her  children  and  home,  watching  a  skirmish  on  the  road  to  Perth 
Amboy  from  her  dormer  window,  moved  back  barely  in  time  before  it 
was  blown  out. 

Daniel  Moores  was  an  elder  in  the  Presbyterian  Church  and  led 
the  singing  for  many  years.  The  following  story  is  a  good  illustration 
of  how  the  war  reached  into  the  very  homes  of  the  church  people. 

"Britain  Moores,  son  of  Daniel,  was  a  sturdy  friend  of  the  Ameri- 
can cause  and  suffered  for  it.  The  Tories  visited  the  house  in  which 
he  lived  in  Woodbridge  and  carried  him  a  prisoner  to  New  York, 
where  he  was  kept,  'in  durance  vile',  for  six  weeks.  James,  his  brother, 
was  also  abused  for  his  patriotism.  The  mother,  Mrs.  Moores,  was 
very  sarcastic  in  her  conversations  with  the  Tory  neighbors  and  some- 
times openly  hostile  to  them.  One  of  these,  Isaac  Dunham,  would  drop 
over  to  see  the  Moores  occasionally,  and  appeared  covertly  pleased 
with  the  evidences  of  misfortune  he  saw  at  the  old  homestead.  He 
always  seemed  to  know  when  a  raid  had  been  made  and  availed  him- 
self of  the  first  opportunity  to  call  on  the  afflicted  household  to  rejoice 
in  its  sorrows.  An  emphatic  protest  by  Mrs.  Moores,  on  one  occasion, 
accompanied  by  vigorous  demonstrations  with  various  loose  articles 
near  at  hand,  caused  Isaac  to  put  his  long  legs  in  rapid  motion,  with 
a  mental  resolution  never  to  go  near  that  dangerous  woman  again. 
He  suspended  his  neighborly  visits  for  an  indefinite  length  of  time."  '' 

Almost  all  of  the  able  bodied  men  of  the  church  were  away  from 
home  in  the  service  of  the  Continental  army  and  many  stories  of  their 
heroic  exploits  have  been  told.    In  a  paper  on  "The  Revolutionary 


18 


Heroes"  by  Ellis  B.  Freeman,  printed  in  the  225th  Anniversary  book- 
let "Celebration,"  the  names  of  more  than  fifty  are  listed.  Some  famihes 
are  represented  by  father  and  son,  some  by  several  brothers.  Many 
are  buried  in  the  church  cemetery.  Among  those  mentioned  by  Rev. 
Joseph  M.  McNulty  in  his  historical  sermon  on  the  occasion  of  the 
200th  Anniversary  are  Capt.  Nathanial  Fitz  Randolph,  the  brave  and 
dashing  Chieftain  (whose  daring  exploits  are  described  in  Daily's  His- 
tory), Capt.  David  Edgar,  the  spirited  Cavalryman;  Lieut.  James  Paton, 
the  courageous  Scotch  patriot;  Major  Reuben  Potter,  the  faithful  friend 
of  liberty;  Col.  Sam'l  Crowe,  Col.  Benj.  Brown,  Capt.  Ellis  Barron, 
Capt.  Abraham  Tappen,  Gen'l  Clarkson  Edgar  and  Capt.  Mathias 
Edgar  of  Revolutionary  fame.  Capt.  Asher  Fitz  Randolph  was  a  leader 
under  whom  several  Woodbridge  men  served. 

In  all  the  histories  of  the  church,  special  honor  is  given  to  Dr. 
Moses  Bloomfield.  He  was  a  man  of  more  than  ordinary  culture  and 
ability.  His  patriotism  was  fervent  and  he  offered  his  services  to  his 
country  at  a  very  early  period  of  the  war  and  became  Senior  Physician 
and  Surgeon  in  the  hospitals  of  the  United  States.  He  was  a  Repre- 
sentative in  the  Provincial  Congress  and  General  Assembly  and  an 
Elder  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  He  served  forty  years  as  Physician 
and  Surgeon. 

As  an  elder.  Dr.  Moses  Bloomfield  set  a  fine  example  for  the 
congregation.  The  following  is  quoted  from  History  of  Woodbridge 
Township,  adapted  from  Leon  McElroy's  materials. 

"What  may  be  said  to  be  the  first  anti-slavery  meeting  ever  held 
in  the  United  States  was  held  in  Woodbridge  on  the  4th  day  of  July, 
1783,  seven  years  after  the  Declaration  of  Independence  and  six  years 
before  George  Washington  was  inaugurated  as  President  of  the  United 
States.  This  meeting  was  held  on  the  farm  of  Moses  Bloomfield,  a 
surgeon  in  the  Continental  Army,  located  north  of  Freeman  Street 
where  Barron  Avenue  runs  through  Prospect.  Great  preparations  were 
made  for  the  event  which  had  been  freely  advertised  in  the  neighboring 
communities.  An  ox  was  roasted  whole  and  a  vast  crowd  assembled 
to  listen  to  the  orator  of  the  day.  Dr.  Bloomfield.  At  the  appointed 
time.  Dr.  Bloomfield  mounted  the  platform  followed  by  his  slaves, 
fourteen  in  number,  who  took  their  places  on  each  side  of  him,  while 
he  addressed  the  multitude  on  the  evil  of  slavery.  At  the  close  of  the 
speech.  Dr.  Bloomfield  turned  to  his  slaves,  stating  that  inasmuch  as 
we  as  a  nation  had  declared  that  all  men  had  the  right  to  freedom,  he 
could  not  consistently  undo  the  principles  of  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence by  holding  slaves.  He  ended  his  speech  with  the  announce- 
ment, Trom  this  day  they  are  free'.    Tradition  has  it  that  each  of  the 


19 


slaves  freed  that  day  continued  to  labor  for  the  venerable  doctor  but 
for  adequate  compensation."  ^  This  meeting  was  within  sight  of  the 
church  and  much  of  the  congregation  must  have  been  gathered  there. 

During  and  immediately  following  the  Revolution  the  people  were 
more  concerned  with  establishing  new  independence  of  the  country, 
less  with  the  local  church.  Most  of  the  active  men  of  the  church  were 
away  much  of  the  time  which  may  be  one  reason  there  are  no  minutes 
of  session  meetings  for  the  first  twenty-eight  years  of  Dr.  Roe's  min- 
istry. However,  Dr.  Roe  kept  a  record  of  baptisms  and  new  members 
and  session  minutes  resumed  in  1793.  There  was  general  impover- 
ishment after  the  war  and  the  minister's  salary  was  paid  in  wood  and 
food,  and  he  was  given  the  privilege  of  letting  his  cows  graze  in  the 
cemetery.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  Dr.  Roe's  records  register  bap- 
tisms of  blacks  as  well  as  whites,  and  also  blacks  as  members,  some 
of  whom  had  only  first  names,  for  example,  "Hannah,  a  black"  and 
"Joe,  a  Negro." 

The  session  minutes  deal  at  length  with  the  discipline  of  indi- 
viduals in  moral  matters,  even  drunkenness.  The  225th  Anniversary 
Booklet  gives  this  report.  "In  the  early  days  of  the  century  discipline 
in  the  Presbyterian  Church  was  not  a  dead  letter.  The  church's  au- 
thority was  respected  and  enforced.  The  minutes  contain  the  records 
of  many  citations  and  trials.  Elders  were  appointed  to  endeavor  in 
love  to  restore  the  erring  one,  and  we  read  of  confession,  contrition 
and  restoration.  These  occasions,  and  the  results,  gives  us  a  glimpse 
at  the  character  of  the  Elders.  Ever  zealous  of  the  reputation  of  church 
members,  the  Elders  in  a  number  of  instances  cited  their  associates  to 
answer  charges  brought  against  them  personally,  or  by  common  report, 
and  they  were  even  asked  to  stand  aside  from  the  Communion  Table 
until  the  charges  could  be  investigated.  ^  This  assertion  of  discipline 
by  the  session  may  have  been  an  effort  to  counteract  the  alarming 
moral  and  spiritual  decline  throughout  the  land  following  the  war. 

At  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century  a  revival  started  in  Ken- 
tucky and  spread  north.  It  was  known  as  the  'Great  Awakening',  and 
it  developed  into  the  beginning  of  missions  and  expansion  of  the  churches 
into  new  territory  being  opened  to  the  west.  This  revival  was  reflected 
in  the  local  church  and  gladdened  the  heart  of  Pastor  Roe  toward  the 
end  of  his  ministry. 

Dr.  Roe's  Historical  Sermon  records  that  "in  April,  1803,  the 
people  set  about  building  them  a  new  house  of  worship,  their  present 
house  being  old  and  going  to  decay,  having  stood  for  about  a  century. 
They  undertook  the  building  of  the  house  with  great  unanimity  and 


20 


spirit  and  iiad  it  almost  finished  by  fall.  So  that  it  was  opened  and 
consecrated  in  the  beginning  of  December  and  is  a  very  decent  and 
convenient  house,  sufiiciently  large  and  spacious."  '° 

Daily's  history  gives  a  few  more  details,  but  states  that  there  was 
little  need  to  describe  the  building  since  when  he  was  writing  in  1873 
"the  structure  still  stands,  with  but  slight  alterations,  on  the  old  Meeting- 
House  Green."  Dally  records  that  a  paper  was  circulated  in  April,  1802, 
with  the  understanding  that  a  fourth  part  of  the  amount  each  man 
subscribed  was  to  be  paid  in  August;  a  fourth  in  January,  1803;  a 
fourth  in  July  and  the  remainder  in  January,  1804.  The  money  was 
to  be  applied  to  the  erection  of  a  Presbyterian  Church,  as  the  paper 
states,  'nearly  where  the  old  one  stands',  to  be  sixty-six  by  forty-six 
feet,  with  posts  twenty-four  feet  high  and  enclosed  with  shingles.  Dally 
gives  the  list  of  subscribers  and  the  amount  each  pledged,  the  total 
$3,522.  " 

Elder  Jonathan  Freeman,  the  father  of  Dr.  E.  B.  Freeman,  was 
the  architect  and  builder.  He  was  the  great-great-grandfather  of  the 
wife  of  Rev.  Joseph  McNulty,  who  served  the  church  beginning  in 
1874.  McNulty  writes  that  Freeman  "looked  in  vain  among  other 
church  edifices  of  the  time  for  something  that  suited  him  as  a  model, 
hence  its  design  differs  from  most  others  of  the  period."  '^ 

Some  excerpts  from  Book  6,  Session  minutes  for  1802  and  1803, 
give  a  glimpse  into  the  time  when  the  building  took  place.  Quote: 
"That  David  Edgar  be  requested  to  ask  the  parish  generally  to  turn  out 
with  their  teams  to  assist  in  hauling  timber  for  the  new  meeting  house 
and  that  there  be  a  refreshment  provided."  Next  entry:  "At  a  special 
parish  meeting  held  on  the  ground  where  the  old  meeting  house  stood 
by  advertisement  of  regular  notice,  for  the  purpose  of  concluding  where 
the  new  house  is  to  stand. 

Maj.  Wm.  Edgar,  moderator  June  1,  1803 

1.  Voted  that  the  new  house  stand  facing  the  west. 

2.  That  there  be  a  door  to  the  south. 

Attest  by 

James  Paton,  Clerk 

"At  a  parish  meeting  held  at  the  new  meeting  house" 

October  15,   1803 

1.  Voted  that  Maj.  Wm.  Edgar  present  the  subscriptions  to  the 
people  within  the  congregation  that  have  not  subscribed. 

2.  That  a  committee  be  appointed  to  approve  the  seats  of  five 
persons,  Ichabod  Patton,  Esq.,  John  Brown,  James  Edgar, 
Jos.  Barron,  General  Clarkson  Edgar. 


21 


3.  Be  the  committee  to  assess  the  sum  of  $3.00  immediately. 

4.  That  the  assessments  on  the  seats  commence  1st  of  Jan.  1804. 

James  Paton,  Clerk 

From  the  picture  of  the  1803  church  published  in  the  225th  An- 
niversary book  it  would  seem  the  exterior  was  very  simple,  with  no 
windows  on  the  sides,  five  multiple  paned  windows  on  the  front,  plus 
windows  in  the  tower  and  steeple,  two  doors  with  transoms  on  the 
front.  Joseph  McNulty  wrote,  "It  stood  out  in  its  plainness  and  sim- 
phcity  and  whiteness,  firmly  and  substantially  constructed,  a  very  ex- 
pressive image  in  these  epithets  of  the  character,  for  the  most  part, 
of  those  who  originally  erected  and  worshipped  in  it.  The  external 
shingling  is  suggestive  of  its  antiquity."  '^ 

The  bell  for  the  spire  was  bought  in  1825  by  popular  subscription. 

In  connection  with  church  property  it  should  be  noted  that  the 
Sexton's  house  was  built  in  1839;  in  1841  it  was  voted  to  build  a  new 
parsonage  (manse);  1868-1869  the  Sunday  School  room  was  built  on 
the  rear  of  the  church,  a  Sunday  School  or  lecture  hall  near  the  par- 
sonage having  been  used  previously. 

Mr.  Thos.  Barron  presented  to  the  church  its  first  musical  instru- 
ment, a  melodeon,  to  supercede  the  old  tuning  fork.  An  organ,  which 
may  have  been  given  as  early  as  1865  was  presented  by  Mr.  Henry 
Morris,  who  also  is  reputed  to  have  given  the  chandeher  sometime 
before  the  200th  Anniversary. 

Before  the  celebration,  the  pulpit  was  removed  from  its  position 
high  upon  the  wall  and  placed  more  nearly  on  a  level  with  the  con- 
gregation, and  a  new  system  of  pews  was  installed.  '" 

The  Woodbridge  Church  was  blessed  with  fine  ministers  during 
this  formative  century  of  American  Christianity  and  the  new  and  ex- 
panding nation.  None  was  more  illustrious  than  Dr.  Azel  Roe.  Not 
only  was  he  an  ardent  patriot,  "a  devoted  Pastor  and  forcible  preacher, 
he  was  a  trustee  of  Princeton  College  for  twenty  years,  and  Moder- 
ator of  General  Assembly  in  1802,  the  only  minister  of  this  church 
to  have  been  so  honored.  Dr.  Roe  died  in  1815  at  the  age  of  seventy- 
seven,  fifty-three  of  which  embraced  his  ministry.  Dr.  Roe  is  spoken 
of  as  a  man  of  commanding  presence  and  excellent  address,  energetic 
and  zealous  in  the  Master's  work."  '^ 

The  Pastorates  which  follow  Dr.  Roe's  were  shorter  and  less  event- 
ful. June  11,  1816  the  Presbytery  of  Jersey  met  at  Woodbridge  and 
ordained  Dr.  Henry  Mills,  who  became  pastor  of  the  church.  Most 
important  during  his  pastorate  was   the  organization  of  the  Sunday 

22 


-n 


The  Old  Manse 


Sexton  House 


23 


School  in  June,  1818,  by  three  women  —  Sally  Potter,  Jane  Potter 
and  Mrs.  Harriett  Paton,  one  of  the  first,  if  not  the  first,  organized  in 
the  state.  This  was  a  period  when  the  climate  was  that  of  union,  when 
Congregationalists  and  Presbyterians  and  other  denominations  worked 
together  to  establish  missions,  Bible  societies  and  Sunday  Schools 
throughout  the  land.  New  seminaries  were  also  founded  and  Dr. 
Henry  Mills  was  called  to  Auburn  Theological  Seminary  in  1821, 
where  he  became  one  of  the  leading  professors. 

Henry  Mills  was  an  educator.  Before  he  was  ordained  as  a  min- 
ister he  was  principal,  in  1802,  of  the  Elizabethtown  Academy.  It  is 
not  surprising  that  the  Sunday  School  was  organized  while  he  was  the 
preacher.  Dally  records,  "He  was  a  man  of  scholarly  attainments,  and 
the  degree  of  D.D.  was  justly  bestowed  upon  him."  "" 

"Dr.  Mills  is  remembered  as  a  scholarly  and  refined  man,  an 
earnest  and  evangelical  preacher,  much  beloved  as  he  went  in  and  out 
among  the  people."  '^ 

"In  1822  Rev.  William  B.  Barton  was  ordained  and  installed  as 
pastor,  then  29  years  of  age.  For  nearly  thirty  years  he  discharged  his 
duties  as  the  shepherd  of  the  flock  with  fidelity  and  earnestness."  '^ 

"Rev.  Barton  served  as  Sunday  School  superintendent  also.  It 
was  through  the  efforts  of  his  wife  that  a  society  of  young  ladies  was 
organized  and  known  as  the  Sunday  School  Society.  They  met  after- 
noons at  different  houses  to  sew  and  the  proceeds  of  their  labor  were 
used  to  purchase  the  child's  paper  for  the  Sunday  School."  '^ 

".  .  .  He  was  a  Godly  man  and  a  good  preacher.  During  the 
latter  part  of  his  ministry  the  Spirit  of  God  was  specially  poured  out. 
The  Church  experienced  a  revival  in  1843  and  following.  Death 
claimed  him  on  the  7th  of  April,  1852."  2° 

"During  that  same  year  a  call  was  extended  to  Rev.  William  M. 
Martin.  He  accepted  it  and  remained  the  zealous  and  enterprising 
pastor  for  eleven  years.  With  a  heart  full  of  love  to  the  Master,  he 
overcame  many  'obstacles'  in  his  path,  and  his  ministry  was  charac- 
terized by  ability,  earnestness,  and  industry  until  Providence  called 
him  to  California.  A  spirit  of  revival  accompanied  his  efforts  during 
most  of  his  ministry."  We  are  not  told  what  the  'obstacles'  were,  but 
we  know  that  Presbyterians  of  this  period  were  torn  between  the  'Old 
School'  and  the  'New  School',  slavery  and  anti-slavery.  Churches  and 
missions  were  becoming  more  strictly  denominational,  and  it  was  the 
era  of  greatest  geographical  expansion  in  American  history.  The  Gold 
Rush  was  on,  The  Homestead  Act  was  passed,  there  was  much  to 

24 


distract  young  men  from  local  church  interests,  and  Rev.  Martin  him- 
self seems  to  have  been  drawn  to  where  the  action  was. 

It  was  during  Rev.  Martin's  pastorate  that  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church  Aid  Society  was  first  formed  in  December,  I  858,  its  purpose 
being  "to  aid  in  defraying  the  expense  of  the  church.  Members  con- 
sisted of  anyone  who  contributed  at  any  meeting  any  amount  of  work 
or  money.  The  society  dwindled  and  was  reorganized  in  1873.  Fairs, 
Strawberry  Festivals  and  Harvest  Homes  were  among  the  favorite  ways 
of  raising  money.  ^' 

"Rev.  George  C.  Lucas  became  pastor  in  1863  and  continued  in 
the  discharge  of  the  pastorate  for  ten  years.  He  was  a  fine  sermonizer 
and  a  scholarly  man."  ^2  Leon  C.  McElroy's  notes  refer  to  him  as 
Rev.  George  C.  Lucas  of  Jersey  City,  who  had  been  called  from  the 
Allen  Street  Presbyterian  Church  in  New  York  City.  McElroy  also 
notes:  "Mr.  Lucas  had  been  called  to  the  local  church  by  unanimous 
vote  but  it  was  charged  by  some  that  his  ministry  was  not  successful, 
the  membership  not  being  so  good  at  the  end  of  ten  years  of  his  oc- 
cupancy as  it  was  at  the  commencement.  This  claim  was  refuted  by 
statements  that  the  cause  of  diminished  attendance  was  due  to  the 
removal  from  the  neighborhood  of  a  number  of  families  whose  places 
were  not  made  up  by  others  and  not  from  any  want  of  ability  or  con- 
geniality in  the  Pastor,  Mr.  Lucas  having  played  a  very  important  part 
in  the  life  of  the  community."  Loss  of  members  may  have  been  partly 
due  to  the  general  westward  migration  at  this  time. 

After  Rev.  Lucas  left,  the  church  was  without  a  pastor  for  a 
time.  Then  Rev.  Joseph  M.  McNulty  seems  to  have  occupied  the 
rftanse  by  some  arrangement  other  than  a  call  by  the  whole  congre- 
gation. This  caused  dissention  and  a  group  including  elders  decided 
to  resign  and  form  a  Congregational  Church,  claiming  their  objective 
was  to  "go  back  to  the  good  old  ways."  The  incident  which  brought 
about  the  break  may  seem  small  in  retrospect,  but  it  must  be  remem- 
bered that  decision  making  by  the  congregation  rather  than  by  repre- 
sentatives is  paramount  to  Congregationalists.  Systems  of  government 
rather  than  doctrine  divide  Congregationalists  from  Presbyterians. 
There  was  the  heritage  of  Congregationalism  in  the  Old  White  Church 
since  its  founding  by  Independents  from  New  England.  The  key  to 
the  situation  in  this  particular  church  during  its  second  century  may 
be  found  in  Leotacher's  A  Brief  History  of  the  Presbyterians.  He  writes, 
"By  the  opening  of  the  nineteenth  century,  there  was  becoming  visible 
a  distinctly  "American"  type  of  Christianity.  It  had  a  common  heri- 
tage from  English  Puritanism  and  had  been  further  shaped  by  common 
American  experiences  like  frontier  life  and  revivalism.    It  included  such 

25 


groups  as  Presbyterians,  Congregationalists,  Baptists  and,  in  part.  Low 
Church  Episcopalians  ...  A  new  American  patriotism  was  greatly 
strengthening  the  forces  of  heritage  and  religious  environment  that 
were  working  for  Christian  unity  at  this  time  .  .  .  Co-operation  between 
Presbyterians  and  Congregationalists  came  with  particular  readiness 
and  formed  the  nucleus  of  the  growing  unity.  Relations  between  these 
two  bodies  had  been  cordial  during  the  colonial  period  and  since.  Both 
accepted  the  Reformed  or  Calvinistic  doctrines  and  both  used  a  simple 
Puritan  type  of  worship.  The  chief  differences  were  in  church  govern- 
ment, the  Congregationalists  having  no  presbyteries  over  the  local  con- 
gregations. But  even  at  this  point  the  Congregationalists,  with  a  Gen- 
eral Association  in  each  New  England  state,  seemed  to  be  coming 
somewhat  nearer  to  the  Presbyterian  practice."  ^^ 

In  1801  a  'Plan  of  Union'  was  adopted  by  both  the  General 
Association  and  the  General  Assembly.  "The  Plan  of  Union  was  an 
ingenious  arrangement  making  it  possible  for  congregations  to  be  con- 
nected with  both  the  Congregational  and  the  Presbyterian  denomina- 
tions at  the  same  time,  and  to  be  served  by  pastors  of  either."  ^'^  Under 
these  circumstances,  those  with  Congregationalist  backgrounds  or  lean- 
ings were  contented  members  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of 
Woodbridge  during  the  early  years  of  the  nineteenth  century  and 
through  it  gave  support  to  the  'nondenominational'  voluntary  societies 
formed  during  the  first  quarter  of  the  century  on  behalf  of  Foreign 
Missions,  Home  Missions  and  Christian  education  in  the  form  of  the 
American  Bible  Society  and  the  founding  of  seminaries.  The  Old 
White  Church  has  had  close  ties  with  Princeton  Seminary  which  opened 
in  August,  1812.    The  Plan  of  Union  eventually  proved  impracticable. 

"Seeds  of  disunity  were  implanted  in  the  Woodbridge  Church  by 
the  division  of  the  religious  body  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  During 
the  years  of  division,  1837-1869,  the  two  churches  were  popularly 
known  as  Old  School  and  New  School."  ^s 

"But  for  some  years  before  1837  there  had  been  ominous  rum- 
blings of  controversy  between  'Old  School'  and  'New  School'  parties 
within  the  church  on  questions  of  church  government  and  doctrine. 
The  Old  School,  reflecting  its  'churchly'  tradition  and  interest,  was 
dissatisfied  with  the  Plan  of  Union  of  1801  with  the  Congregationalists, 
charging  that  the  churches  erected  under  the  Plan  were  not  truly  Pres- 
byterian at  all,  and  that  adequate  control  and  discipline  of  them  by 
the  church  courts  was  impossible.  The  Old  School  also  felt  that  the 
Presbyterian  Church  should  have  its  own  denominational  church 
boards,  responsible  to  the  General  Assembly,  rather  than  work  through 
such   nondenominational    agencies    as    the   American  Board    and  the 

26 


American  Home  Missionary  Society.  On  the  other  hand,  the  New 
School,  many  members  of  which  were  of  Congregational  background 
and  training,  were  quite  satisfied  with  the  Plan  of  Union  and  the  non- 
denominational  voluntary  societies. 

.  .  .  "The  Old  School  and  the  New  School  also  disagreed  on  cer- 
tain matters  of  doctrine.  Jonathan  Edwards,  one  of  the  leaders  of  the 
Great  Awakening  in  the  eighteenth  century,  had  restated  —  his  fol- 
lowers said  'improved'  —  some  of  the  doctrines  of  Calvinism.  Samuel 
Hopkins  carried  these  innovations  farther  and  Nathaniel  W.  Taylor 
farther  yet.  'Hopkinsianism'  and  'Taylorism'  were  types  of  doctrine 
popular  in  the  New  School  party. 

"In  1835  some  members  of  the  Old  School  Party,  becoming 
alarmed,  circulated  through  the  church  an  'Act  and  Testimony'  over 
their  signatures  warning  of  'the  prevalence  of  unsound  doctrine  and 
laxity  in  discipline'.  Finding  themselves  in  a  majority  in  the  General 
Assembly  of  1837  the  Old  School  men  felt  that  the  time  for  drastic 
action  had  arrived.  They  voted  to  abrogate  the  Plan  of  Union  of  1801. 
They  then  took  action  stating  that  this  abrogation  was  retroactive  and 
that  the  four  Synods  .  .  .  organized  under  the  Plan  of  Union  were  no 
longer  a  part  of  the  church.  This  definitely  removed  the  New  School 
party  from  the  church. 

"The  next  year  the  commissioners  from  the  exscinded  presbyteries 
presented  their  credentials,  but  were  refused  seals.  They  organized 
themselves  as  a  General  Assembly  and  adjourned  to  another  building 
.  .  .  The  Old  School  contained  about  five  ninths  of  the  original  mem- 
bership, and  was  declared  by  the  civil  courts  to  be  the  legal  successor 
of  the  undivided  church."  ^^ 

The  Old  White  Church  was  officially  'Old  School'  but  some  of 
its  members  were  'New  School'  at  heart  and  became  potential  Con- 
gregationalists. 

The  conservative  influence  of  the  Old  School  is  evident  in  the 
almost  total  absence  of  reference  to  the  issue  of  slavery  and  the  Civil 
War  in  church  records.  The  situation  in  the  country  must  have  been 
disquieting  to  the  church.  Left'erts  A.  Loetscher  writes:  "From  1830 
to  1860  the  all-absorbing  political  question  in  the  nation  was  that  of 
slavery.  Most  of  the  churches,  by  their  official  utterances,  became,  to 
a  greater  or  less  degree,  involved  in  the  problem.  The  Presbyterian 
Church,  true  to  its  Scotch-Irish  conservatism,  was  cautious  in  its  han- 
dling of  the  issue. 

"The  first  official  utterance  of  the  church  came  from  the  Synod 
of  New  York  and  Philadelphia  in   1787.    They   (the  Synod)   recom- 

27 


mended  to  all  their  people  to  use  the  most  prudent  measures,  consistent 
with  the  interest  and  state  of  civil  society,  in  the  counties  where  they 
live,  to  procure  eventually  the  final  abolition  of  slavery  in  America. 
This  action  was  reaffirmed  by  five  General  Assemblies. 

"In  1818  the  General  Assembly  adopted  an  unusually  strong  ut- 
terance: 'We  consider  the  voluntary  enslaving  of  one  part  of  the  human 
race  by  another  .  .  .  utterly  inconsistent  with  the  law  of  God  .  .  .  and 
.  .  .  totally  irreconcilable  with  the  spirit  and  principles  of  the  gospel 
of  Christ.' 

"After  1832  the  discussion  of  slavery  had  become  so  embittered 
in  the  nation  as  a  whole  that  the  General  Assembly  of  1836  voted: 
'Resolved  that  this  whole  subject  be  indefinitely  postponed.' 

After  the  division  of  1837,  the  New  School  Church,  with  more 
than  seven  eighths  of  its  membership  in  the  North,  took  a  more  pro- 
nounced stand  against  slavery;  while  the  Old  School  Church,  with  over 
one  third  of  its  members  in  the  South,  maintained  a  more  conservative 
attitude.  As  a  result,  the  relatively  small  Southern  section  of  the  New 
School  Church  withdrew  in  1857  to  form  the  "United  Synod  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church."  In  the  Old  School  Church,  on  the  other  hand, 
men  of  North  and  South  continued  in  fellowship  until  the  outbreak  of 
the  Civil  War  in  1861.  " 

Shortly  after  the  bombardment  of  Fort  Sumter,  the  Old  School 
Assembly  met  in  Philadelphia  and  after  some  hesitation  and  pressure 
from  the  North  expressed  their  'devotion  to  the  Union  of  these  States'. 
This  action  resulted  in  the  separation  of  the  Old  School  Church  in  the 
South,  which  merged  with  the  New  School  Church  in  the  South  after 
the  war  was  over.  This  merged  Southern  church  changed  its  name  to 
the  'Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States.'  The  Woodbridge  Church 
seems  to  have  followed  the  counsel  of  the  Old  School  General  As- 
sembly through  these  years.  Locally,  slavery  was  no  big  problem. 
Early  in  the  nineteenth  century  New  Jersey  had  acted  for  the  gradual 
abolishment  of  slavery.  In  1 846  it  was  abolished  by  law  and  those 
remaining  were  known  as  apprentices.  By  1860  only  eighteen  appren- 
tices were  left  in  Woodbridge.  During  the  Civil  War  many  members 
of  the  Old  White  Church  served  in  Col.  Isaac  Inslee's  regiment,  Co. 
F.  28th,  it  is  recorded.  It  is  quite  understandable  that  so  little  mention 
of  the  Civil  War  is  made,  if  it  is  remembered  that  most  church  par- 
ticipation was  through  voluntary  societies,  which  made  efforts  to  min- 
ister to  the  spiritual  needs  of  the  soldiers. 

In  1861  the  Christian  Commission  was  organized  in  New  York 
to  send  preachers,  nurses,  libraries,  religious  literature  and  comforts  to 


men  at  the  front.  The  American  Bible  Society,  too,  was  very  active, 
giving  Bibles  and  Testaments  to  both  Union  and  Confederate  armies. 
In  working  for  these  mutual  objectives,  forces  for  closer  unity  were 
at  work  in  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  North.  There  were  other 
factors  bringing  the  Old  School  Church  and  the  New  School  Church 
together.  They  reunited  in  1869  under  the  name  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  in  the  United  States  of  America  —  the  name  before  the  divi- 
sion and  the  name  that  each  of  the  branches  held  during  the  division. 
The  discipline  and  doctrine  of  the  Old  School  and  the  New  School 
had  grown  more  similar.  There  were,  however,  root  level  splits  that 
were  hard  to  heal,  and  the  division  of  the  New  and  Old  School  Churches 
may  have  been  an  underlying  cause  for  a  group  to  leave  the  First 
Presbyterian  Church  in  Woodbridge  to  form  a  Congregational  Church 
in  1874,  though  not  the  immediate  cause. 

The  shock  of  division  within  the  local  church  seems  to  have  stirred 
a  perhaps  slightly  apathetic  church  (membership  had  fallen  off  some) 
to  action.  The  faithful  rallied  under  the  leadership  of  Rev.  Joseph 
McNulty  and  prepared  to  celebrate  the  two  hundredth  Anniversary. 

It  is  interesting  to  study  the  table  of  church  members  compiled 
by  Whitehead  and  completed  by  Dally,  and  try  to  understand  why  the 
numbers  built  up,  reaching  a  peak  in  1843,  a  time  of  revival  and  then 
dropped  off.  In  1787,  82  members;  1830,  160;  1831,  157;  1832,  170; 
1833,  181;  1834,  184;  1835,  211;  1837,  196;  1838,  206;  1839,  198; 
1840,  201;  1841,  194;  1843,  242;  1845,  233;  1847,  213;  1850,  200; 
1853,  163.  Dally  adds  from  later  church  records  1863,  179,  and  in 
1873,  the  year  he  was  writing,  the  number  was  only  125.  This  would 
be  before  some  left  to  form  the  Congregational  Church  in  1874.  In 
1873  the  Sabbath-school  numbered  over  100  scholars  in  actual  at- 
tendance, up  to  200  on  the  rolls.  This  indicates  a  larger  attendance 
at  Sunday  School  than  at  church  worship  services. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  during  the  period  1787  to  1830,  the 
membership  almost  doubled.  Following  the  devastation  of  the  Revo- 
lution and  under  the  dedicated  leadership  of  Dr.  Roe,  the  Church 
became  first  in  importance  in  the  lives  of  its  members.  They  had 
courage  and  foresight,  and  literally  worked  together  to  build  a  new 
church  building,  sturdy  and  large  enough  to  serve  the  congregation 
more  than  a  century.  Shortly  after  the  new  church  was  built,  while 
Dr.  Roe  was  still  active,  the  church  experienced  a  revival  which  aug- 
mented its  membership. 

After  Dr.  Roe's  death,  during  the  pasorate  of  Rev.  Henry  Mills, 
the  church  seems  to  have  enjoyed  a  tranquil  period  of  quiet  growth 


29 


and  expansion  into  new  fields,   especially  religious  education   and   a 
start  toward  missions. 

The  peak  in  membership  was  reached  in  1843,  which  was  the 
year  there  was  a  revival  during  Rev.  William  Barton's  ministry.  After 
1 843  there  was  a  gradual  falling  off  in  the  membership  for  the  next 
twenty-five  years  or  so.  While  there  was  dissatisfaction  stirring  among 
the  members  at  this  period,  there  were  other  influences  inhibiting  the 
growth  of  the  Church.  The  disturbing  influence  of  the  conflicts  in  the 
General  Assembly,  especially  between  the  Old  School  and  the  New 
School,  the  disruption  of  interest  in  the  church  caused  by  the  Civil 
War  and  its  aftermath  and  the  lure  of  the  West  have  already  been 
mentioned.  The  publishing  in  1859  of  Charles  Darwin's  "Origin  of 
Species"  and  rumors  of  so  called  "higher  criticism"  being  applied  in 
the  field  of  Biblical  studies  may  also  have  raised  questions  in  the  minds 
of  some  young  people  which  deterred  them  from  joining  the  church. 
Another  important  factor,  however,  was  the  change  in  Woodbridge 
itself.  From  a  country  village,  a  hospitable  stopover  station  for  the 
stagecoach  and  horseback  traveler,  it  was  becoming  a  town  with  a 
thriving  industry  —  clay-mining,  manufacturing  and  exporting.  More- 
over, there  was  the  beginning  of  commuting  to  New  York  City,  first 
\by  boat  and  then  by  1864  rail  service  came  to  Woodbridge.  Some 
industrialists,  seeing  a  future  in  the  clay  business,  moved  in.  Wood- 
bridge  was  also  becoming  something  of  a  summer  resort,  especially 
in  the  Sewaren  section,  until  fishing  and  bathing  were  spoiled  by  in- 
dustry. 

It  was  not  easy  to  interest  the  newly  arrived  industrialists  or  the 
summer  visitors  in  the  support  of  the  Old  White  Church.  Meanwhile, 
tales  of  adventure  and  gold  were  drawing  the  youth  and  sometimes 
whole  families,  whose  forefathers  had  been  the  mainstay  of  the  church, 
westward.  They  were  inspired,  for  example,  by  stories  of  Zebulon  Mont- 
gomery Pike,  who  spent  his  boyhood  in  Woodbridge  and  was  the  son 
of  Col.  Zebulon  Pike.  The  younger  Pike  explored  the  southwest  and 
is  credited  with  having  discovered  'Pike's  Peak'.  Discovery  of  gold  in 
the  far  west  drew  others.  Young  men  were  attracted  to  dig  for  wealth 
in  new  territory,  rather  than  dig  clay  in  their  own  backyards.  The  clay 
industry  did  bring  an  influx  of  laborers,  but  they  settled  mostly  in  the 
southern  section  near  the  brick  works  and  the  clay  pits,  a  long  way 
from  the  church  for  those  without  horses.  Moreover,  many  were  Ger- 
man and  Irish  immigrants  who  were  Lutheran,  Methodist  and  Catholic 
and  wanted  no  part  in  a  Presbyterian  Church.  Records  suggest  there 
was  some  effort  to  serve  the  newcomers.  Rev.  Lucas  is  mentioned  for 
his  civic  work  and  children  were  recruited  for  the  Sunday  School.   Per- 


30 


haps  the  plan  to  hold  the  big  supper  in  celebration  of  the  200th  Anni- 
versary at  the  "House  of  Hampton  Cutter,  Justice  of  the  Peace,  on 
Strawberry  Hill,  opposite  ye  Clay  Banks"  was  a  gesture  of  hospitality, 
as  the  invitation  is  said  to  have  been  circulated  throughout  the  village. 

The  Old  White  Church  can  be  proud  of  its  second  hundred  years. 
It  has  a  glorious  record  of  service  during  the  Revolution  and  a  part 
in  the  establishment  of  federal  government  in  both  church  and  state. 
In  spite  of  hard  times  following  the  war,  it  built  a  new  sanctuary  dur- 
ing the  same  ministry  and  generation.  It  reflected  its  countries'  pio- 
neering spirit  by  establishing  the  first  Sunday  School  in  the  State  and 
taking  an  interest  in  missionary  projects.  The  Great  Awakening  and 
other  revivals  had  their  counterpart  in  the  Old  White  Church.  Divi- 
sions and  controversial  issues  such  as  slavery,  domination  of  Old 
School  or  New  School  in  church  doctrine  had  to  be  dealt  with.  The 
Church  also  had  to  adjust  to  its  role  in  Woodbridge,  which  changed 
from  a  rural  village  to  a  town  with  a  thriving  clay  industry.  Through 
it  all,  the  Church  honored  its  heritage,  and  approached  its  200th  birth- 
day in  a  spirit  of  celebration  and  faith  in  the  future.  It  was  definitely 
Presbyterian  in  doctrine  and  government,  and  undaunted  in  spirit. 


FOOTNOTES 

1.  Whitehead,  Early  History  of  Perth  Am  boy.  p.  398. 

2.  Loetscher,   A    Brief  History  of  the  Presbyterians,  p.   62. 

3.  History  of  Middlesex  Co.,  Vol.   1,  p.  93;  Vol.  2,  Chapt.   29,  p.  418. 

4.  Dally,   Woodbridge  and  Vicinity,  p.  243. 

5.  Celebration  of  the  225th  Anniversary,  p.   17. 

6.  Celebration  of  the  225th  Anniversary,  p.   22. 

7.  Dally,  p.   284-285. 

8.  McElroy,  A   History  of   Woodbridge,  p.   5. 

9.  Celebration  of  the   225th  Anniversary,   p.    38. 

10.  Dr.  Roe's  Historical  Sermon,  copy  of  original   manuscript. 

11.  Dally,  p.   30. 

12.  Celebration,  p.    14. 

13.  Celebration,  p.    15. 

14.  "Church  Founded  With  Township"  article  in  Perth  Amboy  Evening  News. 

15.  Two  Hundredth  Anniversary,  p.    13-14   (See  McNulty). 

16.  Dally,  p.  233. 

17.  Two  Hundredth  Anniversary,  p.   14  (See  McNully). 

18.  Two  Hundredth  Anniversary,  p.  15   (See  McNulty). 

19.  Celebration  of  the  225th  Anniversary,  p.   31. 

20.  Two  Hundredth  Anniversary,  p.   15   (See  McNulty). 

21.  "Church  Founded  With  Township"  article  in  Perth  Amboy  Evening  News. 


31 


22.  Celebration  of  the  225th  Anniversary,  p.  34. 

23.  Loetscher,  pp.  69  and  70. 

24.  Loetscher,  p.  70. 

25.  Loetscher,  p.  77. 

26.  Loetscher,  p.  78. 

27.  Loetscher,  p.  8L 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

BARBER  &  HOWE,  Historical  Collection  of  New  Jersey  Number  2. 
BRECKENRIDGE,  Amy   E.,  Disappearing  Landmarks  of   Woodhridge    1946. 
Celebration  of  the  Two   HLmdred  and  Twenty-Fifth   Anniversary  of  the  First 

Presbyterian   Church,   Woodbridge,  N.  J.,  May,   1900. 
CUNNINGHAM,   John  T.,  New  Jersey,  America's  Main  Road. 
DALLY,   Rev.   Joseph   W.,    Woodbridge  and   Vicinity.    Hunterdon   House, 

Madison,  N.  J.   1967  copyright,    1873. 
GARISTAD,   Edwin   Scott.    A    Religious  History  of  America. 

Harper   &    Row,    New   York,    1966. 
History  of  Middlesex  County,  N.  J.  Vol.   1   and  2. 
History  of  New  Jersey  Vol.   2.  Chapt.  XXIL 

JAMISON,  Wallace  N.,  Religion  in  New  Jersey,  A  Brief  History. 
JAMISON,  Wallace  N.,   The  United  Presbyterian  Story. 
KULL,  Irving  S.,  Editor  New  Jersey,  A  History,  New  York,   1930. 
LOETSCHER,  Lefferts  A.,  A  Brief  History  of  the  Presbyterians, 

Westminster  Press. 
LUDEWIG,  Dorothy  S.  D.,   Timely   Told  Tales  of   Woodbridge   Township, 

Woodbridge  Township    Board   of   Education    1970. 
McELROY,  Leon  E.,  A  History  of  Woodbridge    (excerpts), 

Woodbridge   High  School,    1955. 
McNULTY,  Rev.   Joseph    M.,   Historical  Discourse,   delivered   at  the  Two  Hundredth 

Anniversary   of   the    First   Presbyterian   Church,  Woodbridge,    N.    J., 

June  20,    1875,   New  York.    1875. 
Perth  Amboy   Evening  News,  Magazine   Section.   "Church   Founded  With  Township," 

August  21,    1965. 
SPENCE,  Hartzell,  The  Story  of  America's  Religions,  The  Presbyterians,  pp.  59-75. 
SWEET,  William  Warren,   The  Story  of  Religion  in  America. 
The  News  Tribune,  Perth  Amboy,  N.  J.,  "Woodbridge  Church  Dates  to 

Revolution,"  Nov.  26,   1968. 
TRINTERUD,   Leonard  J.,   The  Forming  of  American   Tradition,   Philadelphia,    1949. 
Two  Hundred  Fiftieth  Anniversary  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church, 

Woodbridge,  N.  J.   1925. 
WEBER,  Thomas,   Heritage  of  the  First  Presbyterian   Church   of   Metuchen, 

New   Jersey    1967. 
WHITEHEAD,  W.  A.,  Early  Hi.story  of  Perth  Amboy,  D.  Appleton  &  Co.,  N.Y.  1856. 
WHITEHEAD,  W.  A.,  History  of  'n.  J.   Under  the  Proprietors. 


32 


1875  -  f975 


To  ascertain  in  any  degree  the  truths  of  any  history  one  must 
strive  to  be  objective,  and  to  have  some  knowledge  of  the  subject  in 
question.  One  must  also  have  the  ability  and  insight  to  view  a  par- 
ticular subject  as  a  whole  —  as  one  story  that  continually  unfolds.  This 
is  especially  true  of  church  history  which  reveals  the  complex  patterns 
in  the  life  and  organization  of  a  church.  The  story  of  a  church,  as  it 
discloses  the  dreams  and  aspirations  of  people,  is  often  a  tale  of  hope, 
dedication,  and  unbelievable  sacrifice. 

In  attempting  to  tell  and  evaluate  the  "one  story"  of  the  third 
century  of  the  life  and  work  of  'The  White  Church,"  one  is  most 
fortunate  in  having  the  complete  minutes  of  the  Session  and  Trustees, 
plus  those  of  many  organizations.  The  voluminous  minutes  make  the 
task  most  arduous,  yet  worthwhile  and  even  humbling. 

A  storm  of  division  was  beginning  to  subside  as  our  Church 
staggered  into  the  year  of  its  200th  birthday,  1875.  This  division  had 
surfaced  in  October,  1873,  when  the  Session  and  the  Congregation 
reluctantly  agreed  to  dissolve  the  relationship  with  their  Pastor,  the 
Reverend  George  C.  Lucas. 

At  the  root  of  this  division,  and  the  subsequent  problems  encoun- 
tered in  the  selection  of  a  new  minister,  was  the  lack  of  communication 
between  the  Session  and  Trustees.  The  appointment  of  a  committee 
of  Presbytery  to  moderate  the  Session  following  the  dissolution  of  the 
pastoral  relationship  only  further  aggravated  the  situation. 

Even  with  the  calling  of  a  new  pastor,  the  Reverend  Joseph  Mc- 
Nulty,  July,  1874,  there  was  to  be  no  reconciliation  between  the  dis- 
senting parties.  In  October,  1874,  the  Session  granted  letters  of  dis- 
missal to  38  members,  thus  giving  birth  to  the  First  Congregational 
Church  of  Woodbridge. 

Due  to  the  dissension  the  Bicentennial  Celebration  was  delayed 
until  late  in  '75  and  early  '76.  In  those  years,  even  though  the  finances 
were  in  a  deplorable  state,  a  major  renovation  of  the  sanctuary  and 

33 


the  construction  of  a  Sunday  School  Building  was  undertaken.  The 
renovation  included  a  new  organ,  new  pews,  the  lowering  of  the  pulpit, 
and  for  the  first  time,  a  vestibule.  In  late  1 875  a  magnificent  gas 
chandelier,  now  electrified,  was  installed.  This  object  of  great  beauty 
became  the  central  subject  of  much  conversation. 

Admiration  must  be  expressed  for  the  faithful  few  who  at  that 
time  undertook  a  program  of  renovation  and  building  for  which  liter- 
ally there  were  no  funds,  due  in  part  to  the  secession  of  one  fourth  of 
the  membership.  The  critical  financial  picture  is  shown  by  the  fact 
that  the  Trustees  moved  in  October,  1877,  to  dispense  with  the  services 
of  an  organist.  The  Church  Sinking  Fund,  appropriately  named,  showed 
a  balance  of  $10.00  in  June,  1878.  The  organist  was  rehired  in  1878 
for  the  annual  salary  of  $65.00,  with  the  stipulation  that  he  pay  for 
the  services  of  a  blower. 

New  hope  and  life  was  beginning  to  emerge.  Beginning  with  1877 
new  members  were  received  at  almost  every  Session  meeting,  and  from 
the  same  year,  and  during  the  remaining  years  of  Dr.  McNulty's 
ministry,  baptisms  are  recc^rded  on  almost  every  page  of  the  Session's 
minutes.  Special  "Prayer  and  Conference"  meetings  were  held.  The 
subject  of  benevolence  and  mission  giving  was  frequently  discussed 
with  action  taken.  In  1883  Summer  Union  Services  were  commenced 
with  the  new  Congregational  Church.  This  practice  continued  well 
into  the  20th  Century. 

Furthermore,  the  various  women's  organizations  began  to  assume 
a  definite  leadership  role.  The  work  of  the  Woman's  Foreign  Mission- 
ary Society  (1856)  and  the  Church  Ladies  Aid  Society  (1862)  was 
augmented  in  1872  by  the  creation  of  an  Auxiliary  Society  connected 
with  the  Elizabeth  Presbyterial.  In  1874  the  "Lilies  of  the  Field"  Mis- 
sion Band  was  established.  This  was  an  attempt  to  interest  young 
women  in  the  work  of  Foreign  Missions.  In  1881  a  Home  Missionary 
Society  was  formed.  This  Society  merged  with  the  Woman's  Foreign 
Missionary  Society,  in  1884,  to  become  the  Ladies'  Missionary  Society. 
In  1891,  with  the  exception  of  the  "Mission  Band."  the  various  women's 
organizations  united  to  form  the  Ladies'  Aid  Society. 

A  further  indication  of  the  new  spirit  at  that  time,  is  seen  in  the 
formation  of  youth  organizations.  In  1887  the  Young  Peoples  Society 
of  Christian  Endeavor  was  organized,  primarily  a  senior  age  group. 
In  1895  a  Junior  Christian  Endeavor  was  formed.  One  wonders 
whether  the  new  emphasis  on  the  importance  of  youth  was  the  result 
of  the  excellent  work  of  the  Reverend  Dr.  J.  T.  Mills,  Evangelist  from 
California  (1886),  or  a  constructive  attempt  to  counteract  the  rebel- 

34 


liousness  of  the  young  people  during  the  services  of  worship.  Giving 
rise  to  the  question  are  the  minutes  of  the  Trustees  which  read:  "that 
Mr.  Benj.  Drake  be  a  connnillec  of  one  to  look  after  the  disorderly 
boys  in  church  during  service."  '  Whatever  the  reason  it  is  obvious 
that  the  youth  had  moved  into  the  mainstream  of  the  church's  life  as 
evidenced  in  the  report  of  the  Y.P.S.C.E.  Treasurer  in   1  896.  ^ 

Expenditures 

April  21,   1895,  Dr.  Jessup   $20.00 

April  29,  Ernest  Keorlin    20.00 

April  29,  Jr.  C.   E.  Society 2.24 

June   21,    1895,   Ernest  Keorlin    10.00 

July  and  September,  Miscellaneous   6.00 

Nov.  10,   1895,  Ernest  Keorlin    10.00 

Dec.  13,  Topic  Cards  and  Lecture  on  Pledge 4.25 

Dec.   29,   1895,  Armenians    ^ 3.50 

Feb.  23,  1896,  for  Help    1.75 

Ernest  Keorlin    20.00 

Rail  Fare  for  Speaker 50 

$99.49 

In  the  area  of  proclaiming  and  extending  the  Gospel  to  the  sur- 
rounding communities  the  Church  did  itself  proud  in  those  years: 

A  petition,  numerously  signed  by  the  people  of  East  Wood- 
bridge,  desiring  the  Session  to  appoint  Elder  Prall  to  the  position 
of  Superintendent  of  the  "Blazing  Star  School  House"  Sunday 
School,  was  received.  It  was  approved  and  placed  in  Mr.  Prall's 
hands,  urging  his  acceptance,  and  his  entrance  upon  the  work  of 
resuscitating  that  School.  ^ 

The  establishment  of  a  Presbyterian  Church  in  Carteret  in  1893 
was  the  direct  result  of  the  above  mentioned  work  in  conjunction  with 
the  ministry  of  Dr.  McNulty. 

The  position  of  the  Church  in  the  community  in  the  last  quarter 
of  the  century  in  question  may  well  be  determined  by  the  following 
comment,  "On  motion  it  was  resolved  to  allow  the  use  of  the  Church 
on  March  4.  1887  to  the  Graduating  Class  of  the  Public  School,  for 
this  year  in  view  of  the  fact  that  all  members  of  said  class,  with  one 
exception  are  either  members  of  our  church  or  congregation."  ^ 

Despite  the  many  difficulties.  Reverend  McNulty  in  evaluating  the 
19th  Century  wrote  in  his  "Commemorative  Sermon"  for  the  Two 
Hundred  and  Twenty  Fifth  Anniversary:  "The  Century,  let  me  say  in 
closing,  during  which  this  Church  building  has  held  its  place,  marks 

35 


the  grandest  era  in  the  Church's  history  since  the  Apostolic  Century. 
We  are  impressed  with  this  the  more  as  we  stand  consciously  on  the 
border  line  of  the  twentieth  century."  = 

From  a  more  objective  viewpoint  one  would  have  to  claim  that 
the  good  Reverend  was  guilty  of  hyperbole.  One  should  not  minimize 
the  dedication  and  hope  —  the  living  thread  of  the  one  story  —  but 
neither  should  the  assumption  be  made  that  all  was  "positive"  as  the 
Church  moved  into  the  twentieth  century. 

The  Treasurer  on  March  5,  1900  reported  a  balance  of  10  cents. 
In  order  to  end  the  church  year,  April  through  March,  in  the  black, 
a  special  appeal  was  made  from  the  pulpit  for  $360.00.  The  Congre- 
gation responded;  balance  at  the  end  of  the  year,  $1.79. 

A  practice  that  existed  at  that  time,  and  well  into  the  20th  cen- 
tury, makes  it  rather  difficult  to  determine  the  true  financial  picture. 
We  refer  to  the  assumption  of  mortgages  by  the  Church.  In  the  time 
period,  1890-1930,  almost  every  prominent  family  of  the  immediate 
area,  including  Carteret  and  Perth  Amboy,  borrowed  funds  from  the 
Church.  The  extensiveness  of  this  procedure  raises  the  distinct  possi- 
bility that  monies  may  still  be  owed. 

No  matter  how  you  cut  it,  the  financial  picture  was  a  dismal  one. 
The  Session  minutes  of  March,  1 896,  reveals  that  while  there  were 
almost  200  members  on  the  roll,  there  were  only  29  regular  contrib- 
utors. 

Attendance  at  the  worship  services,  particularly  when  Communion 
was  celebrated,  left  much  to  be  desired.  Growth  in  church  member- 
ship was  practically  at  a  standstill:   1894,  171;  1899,  182. 

It  also  appears  that  much  energy  and  time  was  wasted  in  oppos- 
ing the  inevitable.  A  battle  raged,  for  example,  for  25  years  over  the 
placement  of  telephone  poles.  As  late  as  January,  1901,  an  appHca- 
tion  from  the  Carteret  Light  and  Power  Company  for  permission  to 
erect  poles  along  the  church  property  was  denied. 

Still,  the  positives  outweighed  the  negatives.  With  Hterally  no 
funds,  and  very  few  members,  the  Church  decided  to  pull  out  all  the 
stops  in  respect  to  the  225th  Anniversary.  The  resolution  by  the  con- 
gregation tells,  in  part,  the  amazing  story: 

"Whereas  God  in  his  good  providence  has  allowed  us  as  a 
Church  to  complete  Two  Hundred  and  Twenty  Five  years  of  his- 
tory on  the  27th  of  May  of  this  year,  and  our  present  Church 
edifice  to  be  nearly  one  hundred  years  old; 

36 


Therefore,  Resolved,  That  we  should  appropriately  celebrate 
that  remarkable  era  in  our  history  in  any  method  deemed  best  by 
the  Pastor  and  Ollicers  of  the  Churcii,  and  we  hereby  endorse  the 
movement  and  method  to  do  so  already  inaugurated  at  a  joint 
meeting  held  a  short  time  since  by  the  Elders  and  Trustees,  and 
we  wish  it  will  strive  to  give  it,  the  utmost  success."  '' 

The  celebration  held  on  May  27,  30  and  31,  1900,  included 
three  excellent  Sabbath  services;  a  Midweek  Service,  a  Banquet  and 
Program  on  Thursday  evening,  and  the  publication  of  an  Anniversary 
Book  —  which  included  Dr.  McNulty's  outstanding  "Commemorative 
Sermon."  The  highlight  of  the  entire  endeavor  was  the  presentation 
by  Mr.  William  H.  Cutter  of  a  very  beautiful  silver  Communion  Serv- 
ice, which  was  added  to  by  Mr.  Hampton  Cutter  in  1919.  This  service 
is  still  very  much  prized  by  the  congregation. 

One  notes  that  no  former  pastor  took  part  in  the  Celebration. 
The  two  immediate  predecessors  of  Reverend  McNulty,  Reverend  Wil- 
liam M.  Martin  and  Reverend  George  C.  Lucas  had  both  died  in  1898. 

In  the  first  decade  of  the  20th  Century  the  Church  bowed  to  the 
advances  in  technology.  First  of  all  came  the  telephone  poles,  1902, 
and  in  the  same  year  electricity  for  the  Church.  Mr.  McNulty  did 
not  have,  however,  a  lamp  for  his  desk  until  1906.  In  1903  came  the 
Trolley  Cars  and  a  Water  Motor  for  the  organ;  no  more  hand  blowing. 
In  1907  steam  heat  was  provided  for  the  Sanctuary  and  the  Sunday 
School  rooms,  and  in  1908  the  residents  of  the  Parsonage  enjoyed 
similar  luxury.  Major  repairs  to  the  facilities  were  financed  by  the 
Ladies  Aid  Society. 

However,  the  convenience  of  an  electric  lamp  was  not  to  be  long 
enjoyed  by  the  gracious  Pastor.    Dr.  McNulty  died  December  24,  1906. 

The  Session  minutes  tell,  in  some  degree,  what  his  death  meant 
to  the  Congregation  and  to  the  Community: 

"Rev.  Joseph  M.  McNulty,  D.D.,  the  Pastor  of  this  Church 
for  thirty-three  consecutive  years,  an  energetic  worker,  a  scholarly 
man  and  an  earnest  and  effective  preacher  and  a  faithful  Pastor. 
passed  away  after  a  brief  illness  on  the  twenty-fourth  of  Dec.  1906. 

Universally  beloved  by  his  own  people,  and  respected  and 
esteemed  by  the  entire  community,  he  is  sincerely  mourned  by  all 
who  knew  him  and  has  left  behind  a  record  of  good  \\'ords  and 
works  that  will  prove  a  lasting  monument  to  his  memory."  ^ 

The  Reverend  Mr.  Buschman  puts  it  quite  succinctly:  "After 
thirty-three  years  of  service  he  was  laid  to  rest  in  the  adjoining  church 
yard,  leaving  a  whole  community  to  mourn  his  going."  "^ 

37 


Poor,  but  harmonious,  the  Church  proceeded  to  look  for  a  new 
Pastor.  Turning  her  eyes  in  the  direction  of  Princeton  Theological 
Seminary  she  extended  a  call  to  an  athletic  son  of  Erin,  Reverend 
Robert  W.  Mark.  While  still  a  Senior  Student  he  accepted  the  call  at 
an  annual  salary  of  $1,200.    Dr.  McNulty  had  been  receiving  $1,500. 

With  Reverend  Mark's  ministry  the  Church  began  to  consider  the 
need  for  more  social  and  recreational  activities.  This  need  culminated 
with  the  erection  of  the  Parish  House  in  1911.  This  house,  constructed 
at  an  approximate  cost  of  $7,300,  was  located  almost  directly  behind 
the  former  Rahway  Avenue  manse  on  a  very  large  tract  of  ground 
which  extended  all  the  way  to  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  tracks.  A 
very  large  portion  of  the  tract  was  used  for  many  years  by  the  Church 
and  community  as  an  athletic  field  which  was  sold  to  York-Jersey 
Homes,  Inc.,  in  1942  for  the  sum  of  $6,000. 

The  Parish  House  project  initiated  a  ministry  for  which,  in  the 
long  run,  neither  the  Church  nor  the  community  was  ever  fully  pre- 
pared. Just  about  every  organization  of  the  Church  and  the  com- 
munity had  a  "go"  at  it.  A  hundred  attempts  were  made  to  sell  it. 
Elders  and  Trustees  prayed  and  argued  about  it.  Community  groups 
vied  with  one  another  as  to  who  was  going  to  use,  or  more  properly, 
abuse  it.  In  October,  1971  the  building  was  razed,  along  with  the 
Rahway  Avenue  manse.  There  had  been  basketball  games,  dinners, 
minstrel  shows,  tennis,  and  bowling.  The  bowling  alleys  had  found 
their  way  to  the  recreation  room  of  Our  Lady  of  Mt.  Carmel  Church 
in  1935.  Although  it  had  had  its  moments  of  glory,  few  tears  were 
shed  with  its  passing. 

One  should  not  be  left  with  the  impression,  however,  that  for 
sixty  years,  the  Church  was  concerned  only  about  the  Parish  House. 
Many  of  the  years  of  Reverend  Mark's  ministry,  1907-1917,  were  the 
years  of  World  War  I,  with  the  subsequent  strain  and  stress  on  the 
local  Congregation  which  was  not  lessened  by  a  very  serious  fire  that 
extensively  damaged  both  the  sanctuary  and  the  Sunday  School  Build- 
ing. While  the  flames  of  war  threatened  all  of  Europe  the  flames  of 
hope  and  dedication  burned  low  in  The  White  Church.  The  treasurer 
reported  in  December,  1914,  the  month  of  the  fire,  a  balance  of  3<f. 
Bills  totalled  $491.06.  Bids  were  received  in  January  and  February 
for  repairing  the  fire  damage,  but  most  of  them  were  rejected  —  there 
were  no  funds  for  contracting  out  the  work.  So,  the  men  and  women 
purchased  the  necessary  materials  and  supplies  and  did  the  work  them- 
selves. By  the  end  of  February,  1915,  most  of  the  work  had  been 
accomplished  —  another  amazing  chapter  in  the  Church's  long  history. 

38 


In  connection  with  the  repairs  to  the  Church  in  1915,  it  is  im- 
portant to  note  that  the  men  of  the  church  were  beginning  to  organize 
into  an  effective  and  aggressive  entity,  over  and  above  the  work  of  the 
t)ihcial  judicatories.  '  Though  the  Men's  Brotherhood  did  not  ollicially 
organize  until  1919,  the  Trustees  minutes  of  April,  1910,  state  that 
the  President  and  Vice  President  of  the  Men's  Bible  Class  were  to  serve 
on  the  Building  Committee  of  the  Parish  House.  The  Session  minutes 
of  September,  1910,  indicates  that  there  were  other  men's  organiza- 
tions: "the  matter  of  the  federation  of  the  men's  organizations  of  the 
Church  as  proposed  by  the  Men's  Bible  Class  was  discussed  and  it  was 
agreed  to  postpone  action  until  the  next  meeting."  '° 

This  discussion  was  pursued  for  we  find  in  the  November  minutes 
a  motion  to  call  together  the  men  of  the  church  in  order  "to  discuss 
and  devise  some  method  of  aggressive  work."  " 

Even  though  the  various  men's  organizations  remained  fragmented 
during  the  ministry  of  Reverend  Mark  there  is  ample  evidence  to  indi- 
cate that  the  men  played  a  major  role  in  the  planning  and  subsequent 
supervision  of  the  Parish  House,  in  repairing  the  sanctuary  and  Sunday 
School  Building  following  the  1914  fire,  and  in  taking  a  greater  interest 
in  the  larger  ministry  of  the  Church.  One  of  the  social  concerns  of 
the  men,  patricularly  in  the  second  decade  of  this  century,  was  to 
whether  or  not  to  give  the  Anti-Saloon  League  an  opportunity  to  pre- 
sent its  case. 

The  true  spirit  of  the  Congregation  as  it  tried  so  hard  to  keep 
things  going  is  clearly  revealed  in  the  minutes  that  tell  of  the  leaving 
of  the  Pastor: 

".  .  .  reported  that  after  a  house  to  house  canvass,  all  the 
Church  people  were  on  their  knees  asking  God  that  Mr.  Mark 
might  see  his  way  clear  to  remain  with  us  as  pastor,  however  not 
our  will  but  God's  be  done,  and  that  to  be  in  accord  with  the 
church  people  asked  that  those  present  kneel  for  fifteen  minutes 
(in)  silent  prayer. 

After  this  everyone  expressed  themselves  and  the  unanimous 
expression  was  one  of  unqualified  loyalty  and  love  for  Mr.  Mark 
and  the  hope  that  he  would  stay  with  us  until  the  unsettled  con- 
ditions, due  to  the  war,  were  over."  '^ 

In  January,  1918,  the  Presbytery  moved  to  receive  Reverend 
Mark's  resignation.  Looking  once  again  toward  the  ivy  covered  walls 
of  Princeton  Seminary  a  call  was  extended  to  another  young  man  who 
showed  great  promise,  Mr.  Leonard  V.  Buschman.  He  was  Hcensed 
to  preach  on  April  16.  On  May  9,  he  was  both  ordained  and  installed 
as  pastor  in  the  Woodbridge  Church. 

39 


The  years  of  Mr.  Buschman's  ministry  may  properly  be  described 
as  a  "Love  Story"  between  Pastor  and  People.  Fresh  out  of  Seminary 
and  quite  anxious  to  prove  his  abiHty,  the  young,  aggressive  cleric 
quickly  captured  the  hearts  of  the  Congregation.  The  Manse  was 
practically  "done  over"  for  the  newlyweds.  Their  marriage  took  place 
in  October  in  Fulton,  Missouri.  To  insure  that  the  Pastor  would  be 
"free  from  wordly  care  and  avocations"  '=  Mr.  Buschman's  salary  more 
than  doubled  during  his  pastorate  increasing  from  $1,500  to  $3,600, 
with  a  goodly  number  of  bonuses.  The  affection  was  not  limited,  how- 
ever to  increases  in  salary.  Parties  and  celebrations  for  the  Buschmans 
were  the  thing.  Celebrations  held  for  their  fourth  and  fifth  wedding 
anniversaries  were  truly  occasions  of  love  and  generosity. 

To  all  of  this  the  Buschmans  responded  most  generously  with 
their  time  and  talents.  A  Boy  Scout  House,  a  project  that  was  en- 
thusiastically supported,  was  constructed  in  1921  near  the  Parish  House. 


'-4^- 


Parish  House  and  Boy  Scout  House 

Most  of  the  materials  came  from  the  Church's  horse  sheds.  While  the 
Parish  House  and  the  cemetery  (extensive  damage  was  done  to  the 
latter  in  1921)  continued  to  present  problems,  almost  every  other  facet 
of  the  Church's  ministry  was  at  its  peak  in  the  Buschman  years.  Church 
membership  more  than  doubled  (250-602).  A  Board  of  Deacons  was 
organized  in  1919.  In  the  same  year  The  Men's  Brotherhood  received 
its  charter.  In  1920,  Reverend  Ralph  B.  Nesbitt,  a  Seminary  room- 
mate of  Mr.  Buschman,  was  chosen  as  the  Church's  special  missionary 
to  India.  The  Sexton's  House,  located  on  the  cemetery  property,  was 
electrified  in  1923.  From  1921-1925  in  preparation  for  the  250th 
anniversary  major  repairs  and  renovations  were  made  to  the  sanctuary 
and  the  Sunday  School  Building.  The  celebration  was  held  on  May 
25,  26,  27  and  31,  1925. 


40 


It  was  a  great  Anniversary.  The  congregation  paid  $1.00  a  plate 
for  the  Anniversary  Ikinquel.  The  President  of  the  United  States  in 
resj'ionse  to  an  invitation  "regretted  that  it  would  be  impossible  for 
him  to  take  part."  " 

Following  the  celebration  the  undesired,  but  not  imexpected,  res- 
ignation of  the  PastcM"  was  announced.  Again  the  dillicult  task  of 
finding  a  new  minister  was  begun.  The  Pulpit  Committee  got  right 
down  to  work,  but  it  was  impossible  to  disguise  the  "let  down"  atti- 
tude. By  October,  however,  the  Committee  was  prepared  to  recom- 
mend to  the  Congregation  the  name  of  the  Reverend  Leroy  Y.  Dil- 
lener,  Sr.  Mr.  Dillener,  a  former  classmate  of  Mr.  Buschman,  had 
just  returned  to  the  United  States  after  a  five-year  stint  as  a  missionary 
in  Iran.  Mr.  Dillener's  pastorate  here  was  only  a  year  and  one  half 
in  duration.  The  fairest  critique  of  that  pastorate  might  be  that  the 
Congregation,  greatly  disappointed  with  the  leaving  of  Mr.  Buschman, 
was  not  inclined  to  exert  the  necessary  effort  to  understand  the  Dil- 
liners.  The  Dilleners,  for  their  part,  experienced  some  difficulty  in 
relating  to  their  first  pastorate  in  America. 

The  Session  commented  in  January,  1927,  that  'Tt  was  felt  that 
the  Church  was  slipping."  In  April  it  moved  to  call  a  meeting  of  the 
Congregation  to  consider  the  dissolution  of  the  pastoral  relationship. 
One  would  have  to  comment  that '  the  Church  had  reached  another 
"low"  point.  No  Session  or  Parish  minutes  are  available  for  the  period 
from  April  6  to  November  3.  The  Session  minutes  of  Nov.  7,  simply 
state  that  the  Reverend  E.  A.  Abbott  of  Aurora,  Missouri,  had  been 
called  on  November  3,  to  be  the  new  minister  at  a  salary  of  $3,300 
a  year.  '^  Strange  things  happened  in  the  Church  in  those  years  as 
indicated  by  the  fact  that  the  January,  1928,  minutes  of  Session  record 
that  the  Church  had  celebrated  Communion  on  the  previous  October 
16,  and  that  the  Service  was  "conducted  by  Reverend  E.  A.  Abbott 
who  was  spending  a  week  in  town."  "^ 

During  the  ministry  of  Reverend  Abbott  there  was  a  decided  deep- 
ening of  the  spiritual  life  of  the  Congregation,  with  much  time  being 
spent  in  seeking  to  reactivate  the  inactive  members.  During  his  min- 
istry the  Church  played  an  integral  role  in  the  organizing  of  a  Pres- 
byterian Church  in  Avenel  in  1927,  and  in  Iselin  in  1933.  In  the 
Abbott  years  a  number  of  the  members  of  the  Congregation,  along 
with  the  Pastor,  were  deeply  involved  in  the  First  Century  Fellowship 
(Moral  Rearmament),  an  involvement  which  was  not  fully  supported 
by  the  Session. 

The  very  fine  work  on  the  part  of  Mr.  Abbott  was  hindered,  par- 
ticularly in  the  closing  years  of  his  ministry  in  Woodbridge,  by  poor 
health.    In  April,    1932,   Reverend   Abbott  was   appointed   a   commis- 

41 


sioner  to  the  General  Assembly  which  was  to  meet  in  Denver.  He  was 
also  given  permission  by  the  Session  to  attend  the  Pre- Assembly  Con- 
ference on  Evangelism.  He  did  not  return  to  the  Woodbridge  Church. 
Reverend  E.  A.  Abbott  died  in  Kerrville,  Texas,  on  May    12,    1933. 

The  Church  labored  through  some  very  dilhcult  moments  and 
decisions  in  the  interim  between  Mr.  Abbott's  departure  for  Denver  in 
May,  1932  and  the  calling  of  a  new  Pastor  in  June,  1933.  There  was 
that  hope  and  expectation  that  he  would  be  able  to  return.  In  August 
he  was  given  a  six  months  leave  of  absence.  This  was  later  extended. 
Realizing  the  seriousness  of  his  illness  he  wrote  a  very  moving  letter 
of  resignation  in  December.  The  letter  of  resignation  was  not  oflicially 
received  until  March   15,   1933. 

In  the  passing  of  Mr.  Abbott  the  Church  lost  an  extremely  sensi- 
tive spiritual  leader.  His  sensitivity  is  indicated,  in  part,  in  the  minutes 
of  the  Trustees  as  they  worked  for  the  Church's  survival  in  the  severe 
depression  of  the  Thirties.  The  following  is  part  of  a  letter  addressed 
to  the  President  of  the  Board  of  Trustees,  April,  1932:  "I  shall  be 
pleased  to  accept  any  reduction  in  my  annual  salary  which  the  Board 
deems  necessary  to  make  at  this  time."  "'  The  Board,  out  of  sheer 
necessity,  reduced  the  annual  salary  by  $250.00.  Those  were  very 
difficult  days  and  hours. 

The  Reverend  Mr.  Howard  Augustine  served  as  the  "Acting  Min- 
ister" from  September  1932  through  March,  1933.  A  number  of  the 
Congregation  apparently  desired  that  Mr.  Augustine  be  the  Pastor, 
but  it  is  apparent  from  the  records  that  he  was  never  seriously  consid- 
ered. 

On  June  7,  the  Congregation  called  the  Reverend  Earl  H.  De- 
vanney,  the  annual  salary  to  be  $2,700.  An  indication  of  the  lack  of 
interest  on  the  part  of  the  Congregation  is  seen  in  the  fact  that  only 
fifty-five  members  voted. 

Under  the  leadership  of  Mr.  Devanney,  who  had  had  two  fine 
pastorates  at  the  Mattituck  Presbyterian  Church  in  Long  Island,  and 
the  Covenant  Presbyterian  Church  in  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  the  Church  did 
more  than  simply  survive  the  remaining  depression  years.  Church 
membership  gradually  increased  to  637  by  1938.  The  sanctuary  was 
recarpeted  in  1936.  The  manse  got  a  new  furnace  in  1937.  There  is 
some  indication  that  the  Church  was  taking  a  new  interest  in  the  af- 
fairs of  the  world  as  evidenced  by  the  opposition  to  the  Race  Track 
Referendum  in  1938.    The  Pastor's  salary  was  back  to  $3,000  in  1939. 

In  the  same  year  we  note  the  first  inklings  of  the  attitude  of  a 
minority  of  Presbyterians  to  the  War  which  was  aflame  in  Europe. 
The  Presbytery  of  Elizabeth  discussed  the  feasibility  of  changing  the 
Constitution  of  the  Church  to  have  it  "similar  to  the  Friends  making 


42 


all  Presbyterians  conscientious  objectors  to  all  war."  '^ 

In  1940,  though  there  were  many  active  organizations  and  the 
attenelance  at  the  worship  services  was  quite  steady,  there  were  indi- 
cations that  things  were  not  quite  as  they  should  be.  The  Session 
called  for  a  detailed  report  of  the  Minister's  activities  for  the  month 
of  December.  Mr.  Devanney  made  the  report  but  let  it  be  known  that 
"he  would  iiot  present  another  in  such  detail."  '^ 

In  1 94 1 ,  "42,  the  War  began  to  have  adverse  afl'ects  on  the 
Church.  Men  of  the  Congregation  were  enlisting  and  being  drafted. 
Contributions  and  attendance  decreased.  There  was  a  general  appre- 
hension over  the  welfare  of  the  Church. 

In  April,  1942,  Mr.  Devanney  was  granted  a  "leave  of  absence" 
for  the  duration  of  the  war  in  order  that  he  might  serve  his  country 
in  a  more  direct  way  as  a  Captain  in  the  U.  S.  Air  Force.  This  action, 
which  was  certainly  commendable  on  the  part  of  the  Congregation  and 
the  Pastor,  was  to  lead  to  some  very  serious  repercussions. 

The  Interim  Pastor  was  the  Reverend  Kenneth  M.  Kepler  who 
had  been  serving  as  a  Missionary  in  China.  During  his  ministry  the 
evangelistic  arm  of  the  Church  was  greatly  strengthened.  The  Women's 
Association  was  organized  and  the  men's  work  was  revitalized.  The 
Men's  Club  replaced  the  former  Men's  Brotherhood.  Mr.  Robert  Vogt, 
a  student  at  Princeton  Theological  Seminary,  was  employed  in  Janu- 
ary, 1944,  to  assist  with  the  youth  work. 

Even  with  the  many  "positives"  the  effects  of  the  war  worked 
against  any  kind  of  a  "normal"  ministry.  Indeed,  every  Service  re- 
minded the  Congregation  of  the  war's  presence.  The  Session  minutes 
of  June  5,  1944,  read:  "Out  of  160  present  at  last  Sunday's  service 
in  the  morning  only  16  men  were  present." 

Wars  have  a  way  of  ending,  after  awhile,  and  so  do  "leaves  of 
absence."  Mr.  Devanney  had  been  away  for  approximately  three  and 
one  half  years.  Many  had  joined  the  Church  who  did  not  know  him. 
Others  found  the  particular  life  style  of  the  Interim  Pastor  more  to 
their  liking.  The  inevitable  result  was  that  there  were  those  who 
thought  that  it  would  be  more  prudent  for  Mr.  Devanney  not  to  return 
as  Pastor.  The  very  serious  problems  were  alleviated,  in  some  degree, 
when  Mr.  Kepler  announced  that  "he  would  leave  Woodbridge  on 
November  20,  as  he  had  been  called  back  to  China."  ^° 

Reverend  Devanney  was  back  to  work  in  February,  1946,  fully 
aware  of  the  division  in  the  Church  and  the  dilhculties  involved  in 
leading  the  Congregation  in  a  post  war  era. 

The  division  culminated  in  1947  with  the  creation  of  the  Gospel 
Church    on   Prospect    and    Ridgedale  Avenues.     Its  primary   negative 

43 


effect  was  to  weaken  the  ministry  of  the  White  Church  at  a  time  when 
the  community  was  rapidly  expanding.  The  very  rapid  growth  of  both 
the  Avenel  and  Isehn  Churches  in  the  Forties  and  Fifties  is  concrete 
evidence  of  this  fact.  The  Session  minutes  of  May,  1948,  further  sub- 
stantiate this  conclusion:  "It  was  brought  to  the  attention  of  Session, 
that  all  officers  of  the  newly  organized  church  on  Edgar  Hill,  were 
from  those  who  had  been  dropped  at  their  own  request,  from  the  roll 
of  this  Church  .  .  ."  ^' 

With  Mr.  Devanney's  return  the  women's  work  assumed  the  or- 
ganizational pattern  essentially  as  it  is  today:  Women's  Association  — 
now  United  Presbyterian  Women,  White  Church  Guild  and  the  Ladies 
Aid.  The  Men's  Club,  sometimes  called  "Association,"  reverted  to  the 
term  "Brotherhood." 

The  Church  continued  to  show  a  concern  with  social  problems. 
Alcoholics  Anonymous  began  holding  meetings  here  in   May,    1949. 

In  preparation  for  the  275th  Anniversary  of  1950  the  interior 
of  the  "Chapel"  was  painted,  the  chandeHer  was  "renovated"  —  includ- 
ing the  installation  of  an  electrical  hoist,  and  major  repairs  were  made 
to  the  organ.  The  275th  Anniversary  Banquet  was  held  at  the  Colonia 
Country  Club  with  Governor  Driscoll  as  the  principal  speaker.  Late 
in  the  Anniversary  Year  because  of  the  undeclared  war  in  Korea  it 
was  decided  "to  have  a  service  flag  in  the  Church  again."  ^2 

In  1951  the  official  judicatories  began  to  seriously  discuss  the 
need  for  additional  facilities  to  accommodate  the  needs  of  the  expand- 
ing Sunday  Church  School.  By  1953  the  discussion  focused  on  the 
erection  of  a  "new  building."  In  October,  1954,  all  things  were  "go." 
Ground  breaking  services  were  held  on  May  22,  1955.  The  comer- 
stone  was  laid  on  April  1,  1956.  The  very  attractive  Fellowship  Hall, 
completed  at  a  rounded  out  cost  of  $1 10,000,  was  dedicated  on  May  27 

In  1954  the  Session  and  Trustees  began  to  give  serious  consider- 
ation of  the  need  to  employ  a  full  time  Assistant  Minister.  Seven 
years  later,  September  1961,  the  Church  employed  the  Reverend  James 
M.  Marsh  to  fill  this  position.  Mr.  Marsh  had  been  serving  as  the 
Youth  Director,  on  a  part  time  basis. 

In  October,  1956,  the  Congregation  adopted  the  Session  Rotary 
System  and  the  new  system  for  the  Election  of  Church  Officers,  as 
mandated  by  the  General  Assembly. 

The  Session  minutes  of  September,  1958,  indicates  the  recogni- 
tion that  the  official  name  of  the  denomination  should  now  include 
the  word  "United." 

On  January  7,  1959,  the  Congregation  acted  upon  the  request 
of  Mr.  Devanny  to  retire,  thus  another  long  and  productive  ministry 

44 


to  the  White  Church  had  come  to  an  end.  Desiring  to  honor  one  who 
had  served  for  twenty-six  years,  the  Congregation  changed  the  name 
of  the  Deacons  Student  Loan  Fund  to  the  Earl  H.  Devanny  Student 
Loan  Fund,  and  at  the  same  meeting  moved  to  confer  upon  him  the 
title  of  Pastor  Emeritus.  Then  they  sang,  as  so  often  the  Church  had 
sung  before,  "Blest  Be  the  Tie  That  Binds." 

On  May  24,  1959,  the  Church  called  as  its  next  Minister  the 
Reverend  Alex  N.  Ncmeth.  Mr.  Nemeth,  before  coming  to  Wood- 
bridge,  had  a  very  productive  ministry  in  the  Church  in  South  River, 
New  Jersey.  In  the  Nemeth,  and  we  should  add  "Marsh"  years,  1959- 
1967,  the  Church  became  more  aware  of  its  role  as  a  "steward"  and 
"servant."  Giving  to  both  Local  and  General  Missions  increased  sig- 
nificantly. Going  the  second  mile  the  Church,  in  1966,  enthusiastically 
supported  the  financial  campaign  known  as  the  Fifty  Million  Fund  — 
this  was  a  campaign  to  collect  funds  across  the  denomination  for  capital 
needs.  The  original  pledge  of  the  White  Church  was  $23,458.00. 
Gifts  sent  to  the"  Fund  totaled  $21,688.84. 

Mr.  Nemeth  and  Mr.  Marsh  labored  most  diligently  to  create  a 
spirit  of  harmony  and  cooperation.  They  continued  to  stress  the  need 
for  a  unified  ministry  in  the  service  of  the  Lord.  The  unification  was 
realized  in  a  very  practical  way,  in  January.  1961,  with  the  adoption 
of  the  Unicameral  System.  The  essence  of  this  system  is  that  the  offices 
of  the  Trustees  and  Elders  are  merged  into  one  judicatory. 

Even  with  more  unity  and  cooperation  along  with  increased  giv- 
ing, the  Church  continued  to  experience  financial  problems.  The  sanc- 
tuary and  the  Sunday  School  Building  cried  out  for  repairs.  Specific 
items  of  all  facilities  demanded  attention.  The  razing  of  the  Cemetery 
House  in  March,  1960,  solved  one  of  the  problems.  Another  need 
was  met  when  the  organ  was  completely  rebuilt  in  the  spring  of  1963 
at  a  cost  of  $11,800.  In  November,  1965,  a  complete  new  heating 
plant  was  installed  at  a  cost  of  $8,650.  But,  in  truth,  there  just  wasn't 
enough  money  to  do  all  the  needed  repairs  while  maintaining  a  multiple 
staff  ministry. 

In  February,  1967,  Reverend  Nemeth  announced  that  he  had 
accepted  a  call  to  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Cumberland,  Mary- 
land. In  April,  Reverend  Marsh  "requested  the  Session  to  concur  with 
him  in  requesting  the  Presbytery  of  Elizabeth  to  terminate"  the  rela- 
tionship between  himself  and  the  White  Church.  =^ 

To  quote  a  phrase  used  by  Reverend  Buschman,  "the  present 
Pastor  took  up  the  work"  "  in  July,  1967:  moving  into  the  newly  pur- 
chased Manse  at  22  Dixon  Drive  in  August.  The  fate  of  the  old  manse 
had  been  sealed  when  the  Congregation  on  April  16,  1967  moved  to 


45 


"sell  its  property  located  at  555  Rahway  Avenue,  Woodbridge,  New 
Jersey,  including  the  Manse  and  Parish  House  .  .  .  The  minimum  sell- 
ing price  shall  be  $100,000.""  The  property,  minus  the  buildings 
which  were  razed  in  October,  1971,  was  eventually  sold  in  April,  1972 
to  the  United  States  Department  of  Housing  and  Urban  Development 
for  $100,000. 

The  primary  task  which  confronted  the  Congregation  and  Minister 
centered  on  what  to  do  with  the  Sanctuary  and  the  Sunday  School 
Building.  The  task  was  greatly  complicated  by  the  mixture  of  sen- 
timentality, practicality,  inertia,  indifference,  and  the  overwhelming 
magnitude  of  the  problems. 

After  two  years  of  labor,  prayers,  and  meetings,  the  congregation 
convened  to  act  upon  a  recommendation  that  was  designed  to  deter- 
mine how  much  money  the  congregation  was  willing  to  spend,  rather 
than  the  issue  of  what  to  do  with  the  facilities.  The  motion  which  was 
adopted  read:  "That  the  Congregation  adopt  the  sum  of  $350,000 
to  restore  the  present  church  or  to  build  a  new  church."  ^^  The  meet- 
ing opened  the  door  for  the  very  important  decision  that  was  made 
in  October:  "That  the  congregation  proceed  with  a  program  of  restor- 
ation and  renovation  within  the  limits  determined"  '^^  at  the  previous 
Congregational   Meeting. 

Once  this  decision  was  made  there  was  no  lack  of  dedication. 
The  campaign  for  pledges  in  1970  did  not  go  as  well  as  anticipated. 
Only  $200,000  was  pledged,  but  that  was  not  due  to  the  lack  of  dedi- 
cation and  determination.  When  it  was  realized  in  1971  that  $350,000 
would  just  about  take  care  of  the  restoration  and  renovation  of  the 
sanctuaiy,  the  Congregation  aware  that  something  had  to  be  done  with 
the  Sunday  School  Building,  voted  on  October  20  to  "approve  an 
additional  expenditure  of  $1 50,000."  ^^  This  was  S50,000  more  than 
the  Session  had  recommended. 

$150,000  provided  only  a  "skeleton"  Christian  Education  Annex. 
Not  to  be  denied  an  adequate  facility,  the  congregation,  men,  women, 
and  children,  went  to  work  to  complete  the  structure  as  desired:  Thus 
providing  another  great  chapter  in  the  long  history  of  dedication. 

What  a  proud  people  gathered  that  blustery  "Reentry  Sunday," 
October  15,  1972,  to  admire  for  all  practical  purposes  a  "new  facility," 
yet  one  that  did  not  break  continuity  with  the  past.  They  were  an 
even  prouder  people  as  they  gathered  for  worship  on  "Dedication  Sun- 
day," October  29.    Surely  the  angels  rejoiced. 

The  total  cost  of  the  Sanctuary  and  Christian  Education  Annex 
was  in  excess  of  $560,000. 

The  Church,  however,  is  always  more  than  wood  and  stone.    The 

46 


Congregation  has  never  lost  sight  of  this  truth.  Tn  the  last  several  years, 
for  example,  the  "Benevolence  Mission"  has  taken  on  new  dimensions 
with  the  assumption  of  direct  financial  support  of  specific  missionary 
personnel.  A  revival  of  the  "Ministry  of  Healing"  has  resulted  in  a 
deepening  of  concern  and  compassion. 

The  White  Church,  which  in  the  last  decade  has  suffered  through 
the  longest  undeclared  war  in  the  nation's  history,  the  assassination 
of  one  President  and  the  resignation  of  another,  and  now  caught  in  the 
throes  of  an  unbelievable  economic  inflation,  finds  itself  preparing  for 
its  finest  hour,  the  celebration  of  its  300th  Anniversary.  "A"  Day  will 
be  May  25.   1975. 

In  this  cursory  presentation  of  the  "one  story"  of  the  last  one 
hundred  years  the  medium  of  continuity  has  been  primarily  the  names 
and  contributions  of  particular  ministers.  The  lack  of  space  and  time 
literally  prohibited  the  use  of  any  other  medium,  resulting  in  the  ex- 
clusion of  the  names  and  contributions  of  a  great  host  of  lay  people 
who  have  shared  the  burden.  Omitted  also  have  been  other  particular 
areas  of  ministry  essential  to  the  life  of  the  Church,  especially  the 
"Ministry  of  Music  and  Song." 

God  has  truly  blessed  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Wood- 
bridge,  New  Jersey. 


FOOTNOTES  AND  SOURCES 

1.  "Minutes  of  Trustees,"  April,    1883. 

2.  "Minutes  of  Parish   Meeting,"    1896.  Note   that   the   published   total   is  incorrect. 

A  specific  item   wa  psrobabiy  omitted. 

3.  ''Minutes  of  Session,"  April    11,    1884. 

4.  "Minutes  of  Trustees,"  Feb.    19,    1887. 

5.  McNultv,  J.   M.  "Historical   Sermon."    1900. 

6.  "Minutes  of  Parish   Meeting."  April  4,   1900. 

7.  "Minutes  of  Session."  undated,  but  probably  in  January.    1907. 

8.  Buschman,  Leonard  V..  "Historical  Sermon,"   1925. 

9.  Filer,  James,   Two  Hundred  Fiftieth   Aiuiiversiirx.   p.    52. 

10.  "Minutes  of  Session,"  Sept.    10,    1910. 

11.  "Minutes  of  Session,"  Nov.   30,    1910. 

12.  "Minutes  of  Session,"  Dec.    I,   1917. 

13.  These  are  the  actual   words  of  the  "call,"  then  and  now. 

14.  "Minutes  of  Trustees,"  Feb.   8.    1925. 

15.  "Minutes   of   Session."  Nov.    7,    1927. 
](S.   "Minutes  of   Session,"   Jan.    3,    1928. 

17.  "Minutes  of  Trustees."  April   24,    1932. 

18.  "Minutes   of  Session,"   Feb.  6,    1939. 

19.  "Minutes  of  Session,"   Dec.   2,    1940. 

20.  "Minutes  of  Session,"  Oct.    1,    1945. 

21.  "Minutes   of  Session,"    Mav   4,    1948. 

22.  "Minutes  of  Session."   Sept.    12,    1950. 

23.  "Minutes  of  Session."  .April    11,    1967. 

24.  Buschman,   Leonard    V.,    Two   Hundred  Fiftieth   Anniversary,   p.    20. 

25.  "Minutes  of  Congregational   Meeting."  April    16,    1967. 

26.  "Minutes  of  Congregational   Meeting."   April    30,    1969. 

27.  "Minutes  of  Congregational    Meeting."  Oct.    15.    1969. 

28.  "Minutes  of  Congregational    Meeting."   Oct.   20,    1971. 

47 


Meeting  House  1675 


1803 


1875 


1972 


48 


Section       / 
/'  iiritan       ^iinerarii      .^rt 

A  dear  kindly  lady,  a  member  of  our  church  for  many  years  and 
whose  remains  are  interred  here,  always,  during  her  adult  life,  referred 
to  our  burial  ground  as,  "God's  Half  Acre."  This  is  a  fitting  descrip- 
tion of  this  consecrated,  hallowed  ground. 

Actually,  our  burial  ground  covers  about  five  acres.  As  of  Oc- 
tober 1,  1972,  about  three  thousand  burials  have  been  made. 

Our  burial  ground,  which  is  one  of  the  oldest  in  our  state  of  New 
Jersey,  contains  not  only  the  remains  of  many  of  the  earliest  settlers 
of  our  Township,  but  also  many  of  those  who  fought  for  our  freedom 
as  noted  worthies  in  the  Revolutionary  War,  and  in  our  nation's  sub- 
sequent wars. 

The    oldest    monument    in    our    burial  - 

ground   is  dated    1690    (Fig.   I).   This   field-     *" 
stone  monument  is  in  an  excellent  state  of  pre-       '         -  _ 
servation  in  spite  of  the  passing  of  almost  three 
hundred   years.     This   stone   bears   no   name, 
only  the  initials,  "E.F.B.F.  24,  1690."  h 

This  interment  may  possibly  be  a  member     ^"^^  • 
of  the  Bloomfield  family  inasmuch  as  the  ad-     :-i^"  "'&;,  <^'t*l 
joining  stone  to  this  1 690  one  is  plainly  marked  Pi^,    i 

"Moses  Bloomfield." 

It  is  highly  probable  that  numerous  interments  were  made  prior 
to  1690,  since  Woodbridge  was  first  settled  in  the  1660s.  If  however, 
any  monuments  were  placed  prior  to  1690,  they  have  long  since  van- 
ished. A  survey  made  in  1 849  of  the  cemetery  showed  the  above 
mentioned  monument  to  be  the  oldest  at  that  time. 


49 


As  early  as  September  29,  1703,  Samuel  Hale  and  Adam  Hude 
were  appointed  to  repair  the  meeting  house  and  hang  the  gates  of  the 
"Burying  Place."  In  1 705  a  sum  of  money  was  levied  for  repairing  the 
graveyard  fence.  ' 

Three  to  four  hundred  red  sandstone  monuments  still  standing, 
and  an  unknown  number  vandalized  and/or  destroyed  by  erosion  are 
existing  proof  of  the  influence  of  the  New  England  Puritan  Funerary 
art  in  our  burial  ground. 

The  writer  has  been  told  by  an  eminent  genealogist  that  some  of 
the  red  sandstone  monuments  which  will  be  discussed  in  more  detail 
were  carved  in  New  England  and  brought  down  to  Woodbridge. 

Puritan  funerary  art  shows  a  deep  strain  of  passion  and  a  naive 
delight  in  mystical  symbolism.  The  Puritan  was  a  stem,  unpretentious 
character  with  no  desire  for  show  or  ostentation  of  any  kind. 

Even  their  homes  and  churches  were  plain  with  no  decoration, 
fancy  work  or  embellishment.  ^ 

History  informs  us  that  as  early  as  1550  in  England  whole  ship- 
loads of  religious  statuary  were  exported  to  France  by  the  Puritans. 
In  1559  two  great  bonfires  in  London  consumed  even  the  wooden  cross 
images  from  St.  Peters  Cathedral  and  elsewhere. 

Almost  a  century  later  in  1642,  during  the  English  Civil  War, 
Puritan  troops  destroyed  graven  images.  Even  the  great  cathedrals  of 
Exeter,  Canterbury,  and  Winchester  felt  the  relentless  hammering  of 
the  Puritan  iconoclasts.  These  same  prejudices  regarding  ostentation 
were  brought  to  New  England  by  the  Puritan  settlers. 

We  may  assume  from  the  foregoing  that  when  death  claimed  a 
member  of  a  Puritan  family,  the  grave  would  be  marked  by  the  plain- 
est of  stones,  devoid  of  any  form  of  engraving  other  than  the  name, 
dates  of  birth  and  death,  or  there  might  be  an  epitaph  with  Puritanical 
overtones. 

Not  so!  The  family  was  not  content  with  the  lengthy  words  of 
condolence,  sympathy  and  scripture  readings  by  the  minister  at  the 
grave  side.  Their  love  for  the  deceased  and  the  unexplained,  unfath- 
omable quirk  of  the  Puritan  mind  required  that  what  today  we  consider 
symbols  be  engraved  on  the  monument  to  show  their  fears  and  hopes 
that  surround  the  mysteries  of  Death  and  Resurrection.  ^ 

Between  1668  and  1815  the  Puritans  utilized  engravings  which 
appear  to  be  almost  mystical  in  appearance  and  interpretation.    There 

50 


is  little,  if  any,  historic  precedent  for  use  of  the  symbols  which  appear 
to  depict  the  voyage  of  the  soul  through  death  toward  salvation  and 
eternal  glorified  Life. 

The  New  England  stone  carver  and  his  local  imitators  doubtless, 
on  instruction  from  Puritan  leaders,  spoke  in  the  language  of  paradox 
when  over  a  period  of  years  they  transformed  the  symbol  of  the  death's 
head  into  the  symbol  of  the  soul  image.  No  grouping  of  New  England 
symbols  has  aroused  more  controversy  than  these  symbols  of  transfor- 
mation which  purport  to  change  grim  death  into  sweet  conceptions  of 
the  soul.  They  are  not  complex  enough  to  sense  that  the  soul  can 
abide  in  heaven  only  by  first  becoming  lost  in  death.  "" 

Like  other  early  colonists  the  Puritans  generally  followed  EngHsh 
custom  by  placing  their  common  burying  grounds  adjacent  to  their 
meeting  houses,  in  full  ominous  view  of  the  worshipper. 

The  Puritans  came  to  Woodbridge  from  New  England  in  the 
1660s  in  hope  that  by  moving  to  the  freer  environment  they  would  not 
only  be  able  to  recover  a  stricter  practice  of  church  membership  but 
also  escape  the  encroachment  of  the  English  crown  which  was  whit- 
tling away  at  the  traditional  freedom  of  the  New  England  colonies. 

It  thus  is  not  difficult  to  understand  how  extensively  the  early 
Woodbridge  settlers  coming  from  New  England  were  influenced  by  the 
Puritan  funerary  art  as  shown  by  their  local  burial  ground. 

As  mentioned  above  the  symbols  of  transformation  seem  to  depict 
the  voyage  of  the  soul  through  death  toward  new  fife  in  terms  of  be- 
coming rather  than  of  being.  As  soul  image  after  soul  image  voyages 
through  the  gray  voids  of  becoming  the  imagery  slowly  reveals  a  branch 
of  theology  that  treats  of  death,  judgment,  and  the  future  state  of  the 
soul  conceived  in  motion  intellectually,  but  pictured  stylistically  in  static 
movement.  At  the  harbor  of  death  and  life,  the  begining  and  the  end 
of  the  symbolic  voyage,  the  imagery  crystallizes  first  into  the  form  of 
the  winged  death  head  and  then  into  the  equally  clear  effigy  of  the 
glorified  soul.  ^ 

Fig.  2  shows  the  engraving  of 
the  so-called  Death's  Head.  To  the 
Puritan  mind  this  symbolized  the 
transporting  of  the  soul  into  Para- 
dise. The  empty  eye  sockets,  taper- 
ing jaw,  splayed  nose,  serated  closely 
shut  teeth  of  both  jaws,  are  typical 
of  this  particular  style  of  engraving.  Fig  2 


51 


By  actual  count  there  were,  on  September  1972,  approximately 
260  red  sandstone  monuments  in  our  burial  ground  which  conform  to 
this  type.  No  doubt  many  other  similarly  engraved  stones  have  eroded 
away  or  been  vandalized  beyond  recognition.  The  oldest  identifiable 
monument  at  this  writing,  in  this  particular  category  is  dated  1732  in 
area  5-6;  B-C. 


^^ 


tt   '   M? 


i:^^^ 


Fig.  3  Fig.  4 

Fig.  3  and  4,  dated  1740  and  1724  respectively,  show  the  winged 
death  head  but  with  the  "crown  of  righteousness"  over  the  head.  This 
particular  type  of  engraved  stone  is  not  nearly  so  numerous  as  the  type 
shown  in  Fig.  2.  The  wing  engraving  of  Fig.  4  is  much  more  elaborate 
than  any  previously  shown.  The  "crown  of  righteousness"  was  engraved 
in  pointed,  fluted  and  other  variations;  but  in  whatever  form  it  ap- 
peared, it  proclaimed  the  same  message  when  associated  with  the  soul 
— Resurrection  in  Christ.  "" 

2  Timothy  4:8  reads: 

"Henceforth  there  is  laid  up  for  me  a  crown  of  righteousness,  which 
the  Lord,  the  righteous  judge,  shall  give  me  at  that  day  and  not  to  me 
only,  but  unto  all  them  also  that  love  his  appearing." 

1  Peter  5:4  reads: 

"And  when  the  chief  Shepherd  shall  appear,  ye  shall  receive  a 
crown  of  Glory  that  fadeth  not  away." 

James   1:12  reads: 

"Blessed  is  the  man  that  endureth  temptation,  for  when  he  is  tried 
he  shall  receive  the  crown  of  life,  which  the  Lord  hath  promised  to 
them  that  love  him." 

Along  about  1750,  a  change  took  place  in  the  symbohc  carvings 
on  the  monuments.  The  winged  death  head  was  seldom,  if  ever,  used. 
It  was  replaced  by  a  somewhat  cherubic  face  or  symbol  known  to  the 
Puritan  as  a  glorified  soul  image  having  wings  to  speed  the  transporting 
of  the  soul  to  paradise.  "  There  are  about  one  hundred  of  this  par- 
ticular type  of  engraving  still  standing  and  legible. 


52 


Fig.  5  shows  a  version  of  the 
so-called  soul  images  or  cherub 
engraving.  We  would  not  describe 
it  as  angelic  looking  but  it  is  a 
pleasant  departure  from  the  awe- 
some death  head  engraving.  The 
eyes  and  nose  are  quite  natural,  but 
the  mouth  is  tight  and  grim  in  ap- 
pearance. The  detail  work  on  the 
wings  is  quite  elaborate. 

Fig.  6  shows  another  soul 
image  with  a  garland  and  crown 
above  the  head  and  a  large  graven 
heart  outlined  on  the  main  body  of 
the  stone.  The  Puritans  believed 
that  an  engraving  of  a  heart  on  a 
monument  exemplified  the  soul  in 
bliss  and  was  always  in  symbolic 
opposition  to  the  imagery  of 
Death.  ^ 


Fig.  5 


,\m0^ 


±.^^i?K^' 


Fig.   6 


Figs.  7,  8,  and  9  with  a  slight  variation  in  detail,  are  further 
examples  of  the  so-called  symbolic  glorified  soul  images. 

The  Puritans  believed  when  death  occurred  that  the  Spirit  left 
the  body  through  the  mouth.  ^  Exactly  when  this  thought  came  into 
being  is  not  known  to  the  writer.  The  manifestation  of  this  belief  is 
not  shown  in  the  monuments  dated  earlier  but  is  very  noticeable  in 

Figs.   10,   11,  12,  13,  14,  and   15.    The  distended  cheeks  in  these  en- 
gravings leave  no  doubt  that  the  spirit  is  escaping  through  the  mouth. 

In  Figs.  10,  11,  12,  and  13  the  crown  above  the  head  is  well  de- 
fined and  in  some  instances  quite  elaborate. 

In  Figs.  12  and  13  the  additional  engraving  in  the  form  of  the 
two  five-pointed  stars  with  a  circle  is  somewhat  of  a  departure  from 
any  engravings  previously  noted.  In  addition  in  Fig.  12,  we  have  the 
scroll  engraving  under  the  soul  image  face  as  is  also  shown  in  Figs. 
14  and  15. 

Fig.  16  shows  the  monument  erected  over  the  remains  of  Capt. 
Nathaniel  Fitz  Randolph  (5-6,  D-E).  This  monument  has  the  typical 
Puritan  winged  soul  effigy  surmounted  by  crossed  sabres.  This  is  a 
most  unique  illustration  of  Puritan  influence  combined  with  a  military 


53 


Fig.  7 


I'll*-' 


Fig.  8 


Fig.  9 


^  7  5f 


Fig.    10 


"L  !    - 


-«\ 


Fig.   11 


Fig.   12 


Fig.   14 


X 


/.' 


Fig.    13 


Fig.   15 


54 


motif.  The  top  of  this  monument 
also  exhibits  a  series  of  jointed 
semicircular  carvings.  The  surface 
of  this  monument  shows  many  pit 
marks  or  small  craters.  Did  the 
crossed  sabres  inspire  some  vandal 
to  discharge  a  firearm  loaded  with 
buckshot  against  this  most  interest- 
ing historical  monument? 


Fio.    \(> 


Fig.  17,  dated  1726,  is  unique  as  far  as  the  engraving  is  con- 
cerned. The  skull  is  neither  the  typical  death's  head  nor  the  soul  image; 
the  crossed  bones  are  rare  in  our  cemetery.  A  survey  revealed  only  one 
other  monument  with  an  engraving  of  crossed  bones.  The  hourglass 
engraving,  however,  is  repeatedly  used  in  Puritan  engravings.  In  Puri- 
tan symbolism,  it  suggests  the  journey  of  the  soul  from  Death  to  Life 
and  also  symbolizes  the  corruption  and  decay  of  the  flesh,  '°  The 
engraving  around  the  top  of  the  stone  is  unusual  for  the  year  1726 
and  the  engraving  below  and  on  both  sides  of  the  crossed  bones  chal- 
lenge interpretation.  Is  it  foliage  from  the  "Tree  of  Life?"  Does  it 
represent  flames  of  fire?  Modem  eyes  and  imagination  cannot  truly 
measure  or  gauge  all  Puritan  symbols. 


Fig.    17  Fig.    18 

Fig.  18  is  an  interesting  and  beautiful  exhibit.  The  engraving 
so  prominently  shown  is  "The  Tree  of  Life."  This  engraving  has  had 
symbolic  significance  since  at  least  the  Sumerian  times,  5000  B.C., 
and  has  been  used  by  a  number  of  cultures  to  symbolize  spiritual  values. 
It  was  used  by  the  Puritans  and  still  is  so  used  until  the  present  day. 
Note  particularly  the  engraving  of  the  coffin  placed  under  "The  Tree 
of  Life."  This  combination  of  cofiin  under  tree  is  symbolic  of  the  victory 
of  eternal  Life  over  Death.  Additional  interesting  secondary  engrav- 
ings are  also  seen  on  the  right  and  left  hand  shoulders  of  this  monument. 


55 


The  Puritan  influence  had  probably  waned  with  the  coming  of 
later  succeeding  generations  and  the  influx  of  other  sects  into  the  Wood- 
bridge  area. 

The  winged  Death  head  and  the  winged  glorified  soul  image  en- 
gravings ceased  to  be  used  after  the  very  late  1700s. 

The  engravings  following  those  of  the  Puritan  influence  had  no 
set  pattern  but  were  quite  individualistic. 

Fig.  19  shows  an  engraving  of  what  is  called  an  incinerary  urn. 
The  purpose  of  an  urn  as  here  illustrated  was  to  receive  the  ashes 
produced  by  a  cremation. 


Fig.    19  Fig.   20 

Fig.  20  shows  the  evolution  of  the  use  of  a  scallop  shell  for  de- 
corative purposes.  This  motif  is  found  in  various  forms  in  a  number 
of  the  old  red  sandstone  monuments. 

Fig.  21  shows  a  composite  form  of  engraving:  the  scallop  shell, 
but  with  fewer  flutes  than  shown  in  Fig.  20;  additional  shell  shapes  in 
both  upper  comers  and  both  floral  and  unusual  geometric  engravings 
are  on  the  main  face  of  the  stone. 


•^  •t*** 


Fig.  22 


Fig.  21 

Fig.  22  shows  another  example  of  engraving  after  the  Puritan 
influence  had  completely  waned  as  the  year  1800  approached.  This 
stone  shows  a  beautiful  symmetrical  floral  design  suggested  by  the  tulip. 


56 


The  many  monuments  erected  after  1 800  are  with  very  few  ex- 
ceptions the  now  standard  granite  stones.  They  are  of  a  great  variety 
of  size  and  shape  as  is  shown  in  Fig.  23. 


i^ ' 


Fig.  23  •  Fig.  24 

The  tendency  in  recent  years  has  been  toward  a  smaller,  more 
uniform  shape,  roughly  resembling  a  pillow  (Fig.  24).  This  size  is 
principally  due  to  the  fact  that  practically  all  recently  purchased  per- 
petual care  plots  accommodate  only  two  to  four  interments.  There 
have  been  no  large  (six  or  more)  plots  acquired  by  any  family  for 
many  years. 

It  is  somewhat  surprising  to  learn  of  the  frequency  that  new 
grave  openings  are  requested  by  out-of-town  residents  connected  with 
old  time  Woodbridge  families  who  have  large  plots  in  which  there  are 
still  unused  burial  areas. 

There  may  be  among  the  readers  of  this  discourse  doubts  regard- 
ing the  custom  among  the  Puritans  for  their  penchant  for  what  may 
appear  weird,  almost  frightening  in  appearance,  graven  images  on 
tombstones.  The  examples  of  Puritan  engraving  in  our  burial  ground 
are  probably  the  least  gruesome  of  any  when  compared  with  many 
examples  of  the  art  as  it  may  be  found  in  Hingham,  Paxton,  Belling- 
ham,  Deerfield,  Hanover,  and  other  Massachusetts  towns,  as  well  as 
in  Peterboro,  New  Hampshire;  Grafton,  Vennont;  Wiscasset,  Maine, 
and  many  other  New  England  burial  grounds.  " 

How  do  we  account  for  their  strange  taste  in  engraving  on  tomb- 
stones? There  are  no  Puritans  available  to  answer  this  question.  If 
however,  we  delve  into  certain  facts  concerning  the  Puritans,  we  prob- 
ably will  agree  that  their  reasoning  or  thinking  was  complex,  yes, 
complicated,  even  paradoxical.  How  otherwise  would  we  account  for 
their  system  of  engravings  on  tombstones  or  their  belief  in  witchcraft? 

Witchcraft  is  the  human  exercise  of  alleged  supernatural  power 
for  anti-social,  evil  purpose.    Witchcraft  survived  in  England  until  the 


57 


18th  Century —  1200  years  after  the  introduction  of  Christianity  and 
was  taken  to  colonial  America  by  English  settlers  (including  the  Puri- 
tans). In  1692  after  a  prolonged  witch  trial  in  Salem,  Massachusetts, 
as  a  result  of  accusations  by  a  group  of  teenage  girls,  more  than  30 
persons  were  convicted  of  witchcraft.  '^  The  usual  sentence  for  con- 
viction of  witchcraft  was  death. 

The  reality  of  witches  and  wizards  was  universally  assumed;  witch- 
craft being  merely  another  wile  of  that  old  deluder  Satan  himself.  Evil 
demons  and  unclean  spirits  had  to  be  cast  out  or  driven  into  the  sea, 
as  in  the  New  Testament.  Seventeen  hundred  years  had  brought  about 
some  refinements  in  the  "driving  into  the  sea"  method  but  these  bene- 
fitted pigs  more  than  people.  '=* 

It  takes  no  stretching  of  the  imagination  to  understand  how  the 
Puritan  mind  which  could  condone  all  the  indignities  and  persecution, 
yes,  even  death  upon  a  suspected  witch  or  wizard  could  and  did  design, 
invent,  and  carve  symbolic  figures  on  headstones.  Symbols  that  are 
far  from  being  aesthetic  or  pleasing  to  the  eye.  In  some  instances  the 
symbolic  meaning  defies  our  present  day  interpretation. 

To  bring  this  matter  of  symbolic  carvings,  witchcraft,  and  the 
pecularities  of  the  Puritan  mind  to  a  close  but  to  show  how  fully  it  had 
immigrated  to  Woodbridge  is  illustrated  by  one  simple  "quote"  from 
a  law  passed  by  the  General  Assembly  in  meeting  at  Woodbridge,  New 
Jersey  on  December  9,  1675:  "If  any  pesron  be  found  to  be  a  Witch, 
either  male  or  female,  they  shall  be  put  to  Death." 


58 


Section      ^ 


^irsl       families       or       C^artn       S^elllerS 
interred      in       Kyur      K^emeleru 


In  1670  there  were  fifty-seven  individuals  who  were  made  patent 
holders  by  the  East  Jersey  Proprietors.  This  meant  that  they  were 
given  land,  some  a  surprisingly  large  acreage,  and  are  referred  to  as 
the  First  Family  or  Early  Settlers. 

'If  one  owned  a  small  tract  of  land  in  those  early  days,  it  was 
called  a  farm;  if  it  was  approximately  200  acres,  it  was  a  plantation."  ' 

A  search  of  certain  available  records  show  a  surprising  number 
of  this  group  were  interred  in  our  cemetery.  We  feel  sure  that  the 
following  short  biographies  regarding  some  of  the  first  families  or 
early  settlers  will  be  of  interest  to  the  reader. 

Alston  —  Here  is  a  family  name  that  few,  if  any,  readers  will  as- 
sociate with  the  very  beginning  of  the  settlement  of  Woodbridge.  This 
surmise  will  apply  as  well  to  other  first  family  names  which  follow. 

The  early  records  show  that  John  Alston,  Sr.  and  two  sons,  John, 
Jr.  and  Peter,  were  among  the  first  settlers  of  Woodbridge.  ^ 

John  Alston,  Sr.  suft'ered  shipwreck  in  Boston  Bay  on  July  26, 
1631  with  two  other  fishermen.  He  later  removed  to  Welles,  Maine, 
where  he  took  the  Oath  of  Allegiance  to  the  Massachusetts  government 
on  July  5,  1658. 

There  is  no  doubt  but  that  with  the  other  inhabitants  of  the  Pis- 
cataqua  region  of  New  Hampshire  and  Maine  who  found  their  way 
to  Woodbridge,  also  came  John  Alston,  Sr.  to  head  the  locally  promi- 
nent family  by  that  name.  ^ 

Twenty-two  Alstons  have  been  interred  here,  the  earliest  is  dated 

1733. 

Ay  res  Family 

The  Ayres  or  Ayers  were  from  Newbury,  Massachusetts  at  which 
place  Obadiah  Ayers,  by  his  wife  Hannah,  had  a  son  born  March  2, 
1663.   Obadiah  was  probably  the  son  of  John  Ayres,  who  was  of  Sahs- 


59 


bury,  Massachusetts  in  1640;  of  Haverhill  in  1647;  and  of  Ipswich, 
Massachusetts  in  1 666.  "^  The  writer  found  no  record  of  the  exact  date 
of  the  coming  of  the  Ayers  to  Woodbridge  but  Obadiah  was  listed  as 
a  Freeholder  in  1670.  He  received  a  grant  of  171  acres  of  land.  There 
is  still,  today,  between  Main  St.  and  former  Metuchen  Ave.,  a  property 
known  as  the  Ayer  Clay  Bank. 

There  are  nine  interments  in  the  Ayer  Plot. 

Barron   Family 

Without  a  shadow  of  dtuibt,  one  of  the  most  interesting  of  the 
early  Woodbridge  families  is  the  Barron  Family. 

The  Barrons  are  descended  from  the  Palatine  Barons  of  Burn- 
church,  County  of  Waterford.  Ireland.  The  patronymic  name  of  the 
family  was  FitzGerald.  The  last  branch  of  the  FitzGeralds,  who  were 
Barons  of  Burnchurch,  retained  for  several  years  a  station  of  rank  and 
influence  in  Kilkenny.  When  they  became  involved  in  the  troubles  of 
the  times  they  were  forced  to  abandcMi  their  native  shire  and  settle  in 
the  bordering  county  of  Waterford.  To  escape  the  rancor  of  persecu- 
tion and  elude  its  vigilance  they  assumed  the  cognomen  of  Barron  in- 
sted  of  their  patronymic,  FitzGerald.  '' 

The  FitzGerald  family  can  be  traced  back  to  the  Battle  of  Hastings 
and  William  the  Conqueror  to  the  year  1066.  The  earliest  traceable 
individual  member  is  Walter  FitzOtho  in    1086. 

The  first  member  of  this  family,  who  now  called  themselves  the 
Barrons  as  apart  from  Baron,  who  came  to  America,  was  Ellis  Barron. 
He  came  to  Watertown,  Masachusetts  in  1640  with  his  first  wife  Grace 
and  their  five  children. 

A  grandson  of  Ellis,  Elizeus  by  name,  born  June  4,  1672  in 
Groton,  Massachusetts,  came  to  Woodbridge  about  1690  and  was  con- 
sidered as  among  the  first  setlers.  Elizeus  had  a  son.  Samuel,  born  in 
1711   and  who  died  on  September  1,   1801. 

Thomas  Barron,  born  in  Woodbridge  June  10.  1790  and  died 
August  31,  1875,  made  munificent  bequests  to  various  institutions. 
He  and  his  nephew.  Col.  John  C.  Barron,  gave  the  land  and  money 
to  erect  the  Barron  Memorial  Library  on  Rahway  Avenue. 

The  cost  of  the  original  contract  for  the  building,  including  laying 
out  the  grounds  and  beautifying  them,  was  $17,998.58.  The  ofiicial 
dedication  of  the  library  took  place  on  September  12.   1877. 

Col.  John  C.  Barron  was  chief  surgeon  of  the  69th  New  York 
Volunteers  during  the  Civil   War.     He  was   born  November   2,   1837, 


60 


in  what  is  now  the  Dr.  Rothfuss  property  at  574  Rahway  Avenue.    He 
died  February  8,  1908. 

There  are  at  least  thirty-one  interments  in  the  several  Barron  plots 
going  baci<  to  1744.  Fig.  25  shows  the  monument  on  the  Thomas 
Barron  plot.  Fig.  26  shows  the  family  monument  on  the  John  Barron 
plot. 


Fig.   25  Fig.   26 

The  Barron  family  is  related  by  marriage  to  Calvin  Coolidge,  the 
29th  President  of  the  United  States.  This  relationship  may  be  traced 
as  follows: 

1.  A  daughter  of  Ellis,  Hannah  Barron  (bom  1635)  married  Simon 
Coolidge  (born  in  Watertown,  Massachusetts  in  1632)  on  Nov. 
17,   1657/58. 

2.  Their  son,  Obadiah  Coolidge,  married  Elizabeth  Rouse  on  Feb. 
28,  1686/87. 

3.  Obadiah,  fifth  child  of  Obadiah  and  Elizabeth,  married  Rachel 
Goddard  on  July  24,   1717. 

4.  Josiah,  first  child  of  Obadiah  and  Rachel,  married  Mary  Jones  on 
April  26,    1742.    Josiah  was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolutonary  War. 

5.  Captain  John  Coolidge,  third  child  of  Josiah  and  Mary,  married 
Hannah  Priest  on  September  8,  1779.  Captain  John  Coolidge 
served  in  the  war  of  the  Revolution  in  Captain  Artemas  Horve's 
Company,  hastening  to  the  Lexington  Alarms  April  19,  1775. 
In  the  178()s  Captain  Coolidge  moved  to  Vernn^nt. 


61 


6.  Calvin  Coolidge,  first  child  of  Capt.  John  Coolidge  and  Hannah 
Priest,  married  Sarah  (Sally)  Thompson  (or  Tompson)  on  Dec. 
9,   1814  in  Plymouth,  Vermont. 

7.  Calvin  Galusha  Coolidge.  first  child  of  Calvin  and  Sarah   (Sally), 

married  on  March  3,   1844  Sarah  Almeda  Brewer. 

8.  John  Calvin  Coolidge,  first  child  of  Calvin  Galusha  and  Sarah 
Almeda,  married  May  6,   1 868  Victoria  Josephine  Moor. 

9.  John  Calvin  Coolidge,  first  child  of  John  Calvin  and  Victoria 
Josephine,  born  July  4,  1872,  died  January  5,  1933,  married  on 
October  4,  1905  Grace  Anna  Goodhue.  John  Calvin,  called 
Calvin,  became  Vice  President  of  the  United  States  in  1921  and 
on  the  death  of  Warren  G.  Harding  in  1923,  became  President 
and  acted  as  such  until  1929.  ^ 

Bishop  Family 

John  Bishop  was  one  of  the  original  Associates.  He  was  from 
Newbury,  Massachusetts  where  by  his  wife  Rebecca,  daughter  of  Rich- 
ard Kent,  he  had  a  son  Noah  born  June  20,  1658.  He  received  a  grant 
of  470  acres. 

There  are  four  interments  in  the  Bishop  plot.  " 

Bloomjiehl  Family 

The  name  was  originally  French,  coming  to  England  from  Caen, 
Normandy,  and  perchance  is  to  be  associated  with  William  the  Con- 
queror in   1066. 

Thomas  Bloomfield  was  a  major  in  CromwelTs  army.  Upon  the 
restoration  of  Charles  II  to  the  British  throne  he,  Thomas,  emigrated 
from  Woadhridge  ",  Suftolk  County,  England,  with  five  children,  Eze- 
kiel,  John,  Thomas,  Nathaniel,  and  Mary.  They  first  settled  in  New- 
bury, Massachusetts.  They  then  removed  to  Woodbridge,  New  Jersey 
in  1665.  Thomas,  Sr.  received  a  grant  of  326  acres;  Thomas,  Jr.,  92 
acres,  and  John,  90  acres.  "  The  elder  Bloomfield  was  a  carpenter  by 
trade.  He  and  his  son,  Thomas,  became  Freeholders  in  1670.  A 
grandson,  John,  was  a  captain  in  Col.  Drayton's  3rd  Continental  Regi- 
ment in  1776.  The  marriages  of  several  of  Thomas  Sr.'s  children  are 
given  in  the  Woodbridge  records,  but  in  some  cases  both  the  names 
and  dates  are  partially  obliterated.  This  is  the  case  with  Ezekiel,  but 
it  is  quite  certain  that  his  wife  was  Hope,  daughter  of  Edward  Fitz 
Randolph  of  Barnstable,  Massachusetts,  and  that  they  were  married  at 
Woodbridge,  December  22,   1680. 

Numbered  among  the  members  of  this  illustrious  family  was  Joseph 
Bloomfield  who  served  as  governor  of  New  Jersey  from  1801  to  1802, 


62 


and  again  from  1803  to  I  812.  He  was  the  grandson  of  Ezekiel.  Dr. 
Moses  Bloomlicld,  another  member  of  this  family,  was  a  well-loved 
physician  in  the  town  whose  monument  in  our  cemetery  bears  the 
following  inscription:  "In  memory  of  Dr.  Moses  Bloomfield,  forty  years 
physician  and  surgeon  in  this  town;  senior  physician  and  surgeon  in 
the  Hospitals  of  the  United  States;  Representative  in  the  Provincial  Con- 
gress and  General  Assembly;  an  upright  magistrate  Elder  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Church.    Timothy   1:12.  'I  know  whom  I  have  believed.'" 

In  various  plots  there  is  a  total  of  forty  Bloomfield  interments. 

Brown   Family 

Research  showed  that  a  George  Brown  came  to  Woodbridge  from 
Scotland  in  1685  in  the  good  ship  "Henry  and  Frances."  He  was  ban- 
ished from  Scotland  for  refusal  to  take  the  Oath  of  Abjuration,  August 
17,  1685.  There  is  a  total  of  at  least  124  interments  with  the  name  of 
Brown  in  numerous  plots  in  our  cemetery,  the  oldest  bearing  the  date 
1713,  including  the  above  named  George  Brown,  his  wife  Annabel, 
son  James  and  daughter-in-law,  Agnes. 

Clarkson  Family 

James  Clarkson,  Sr.  was  a  First  Settler  at  Woodbridge.  '°  He 
came  with  the  Scots  contingent  in  1684-1685  directly  from  Scotland. 
It  is  believed  that  the  family  came  from  the  town  of  Lithgow,  Scotland. 
He  lived  only  two  or  three  years  after  arriving  here.  On  October  1  2, 
1687,  letters  of  administration  on  the  estate  of  James  Clarkson,  Sr. 
were  granted  to  his  son  James,  a  yeoman  of  Woodbridge.  Following 
his  death,  the  widow  of  James  Sr.  returned  to  Scotland  to  live  with  her 
son  John. 

There  are  twenty-eight  interments  in  the  Clarkson  plots;  the  oldest 
is  dated   1715.  " 

Compton  Family 

Compton  is  an  old  family  name  going  back  to  William  the  Con- 
queror in  1066.  There  is  no  record  of  anyone  by  this  name  interred 
in  our  cemetery.  However,  William  Compton,  whose  daughter  Mary 
was  the  first  child  born  in  Woodbridge  in  1668,  is  probably  the  William 
Compton  of  Ipswich,  Massachusetts.  He  purchased  land  there  in  1662 
but  soon  thereafter  reportedly  came  to  Woodbridge  where  he  was  a 
pioneer  settler  and  received  a  grant  of  174  acres.  His  grant  must  have 
been  a  wooded  area  since  the  records  say  that  he  was  the  first  man  in 
this  area  to  cut  down  timber. 


63 


Crowell,  Crow,  Crowes,  Croel  Family 

The  Crowells  were  probably  from  Yarmouth,  Massachusetts. 
Among  the  earUcst  settlers  were  John  and  Yelverton  Crow.  John  came 
over  from  England  in  1635.  The  name  was  long  written  Crowe,  some- 
times Crowes,  Croel,  but  finally  evolved  into  the  present  Crowell.  '^ 
Edward  Crowell,  Sr.  was  a  first  settler  of  Woodbridge,  arriving  with 
his  wife  Mary  Lothrop  before  1688-89.  The  Crowells  received  a  grant 
of  630  acres.  His  son  Yelberton  was  a  private  in  the  militia  regiment 
in  1715.  Edward  Crowell,  Jr.,  born  in  1680,  was  later  in  his  life  Town 
Clerk  of  Wcmdbridge  for  a  period  of  twenty-five  years. 

There  are  at  least  55  Crowells  going  back  to  1728  interred  in  our 
cemetery. 

Coddington  Family 

John  Coddington  who,  by  his  wife  Hannah,  had  several  children 
born  in  Woodbridge  between  1677  and  1689  may  have  been  John 
Coddington  previously  of  Boston,  Massachusetts. 

Some  forty  interments  under  this  family  name  are  in  our  burial 
ground. 

Cutter  Family 

The  common  ancestor  was  Richard  Cutter  of  Cambridge,  Massa- 
chusetts. William  Cutter  was  a  first  settler  of  Woodbridge  in  1685. 
He  was  a  blacksmith  by  occupation.  Ephraim  Cutter,  a  first  settler 
from  Massachusetts  was  by  occupation  a  glazier.  '"  Other,  later  mem- 
bers of  this  family  had  extensive  holdings  of  choice,  high  grade  clay 
bearing  properties. 

There  are  sixty-four  Cutters  interred  here  beginning  with  the  year 
1716. 

Dunham  Family 

As  early  in  the  Proprietary  Period  of  East  Jersey  as  1670,  refer- 
ence is  made  in  the  old  town  books  to  Jonathan  Dunham,  alias  Single- 
tary,  and  Mary,  his  wife,  formerly  of  Haverhill  in  ye  Massachusetts 
colony.  '^  It  is  recorded  of  him  that  a  grant  of  land  was  made  in  his 
name  in  consideration  of  his  building  the  first  grist  mill  in  Woodbridge 
1670-1671,  with  his  toll  to  be   l/16th  of  the  grist. 

In  May  1670-71  Jonathan  was  a  member  of  a  jury  sitting  at 
Elizabeth  and  in  1671  he  olliciated  as  foreman  of  another  jury.  He 
became  an  influential  citizen  possessing  suflicient  acquired  property 
holdings  to  entitle  him  to  honorable  distinction.  He  received  in  1672 
a  grant  of  213  acres.    He  is  interred  in  the  local  Episcopal  cemetery. 

64 


A  descendant,  Willard  Dunham,  is  head  of  the  contracting  com- 
pany that  built  our  Fellowship  Hall  in  1955  and  did  the  work  of  Res- 
toration and  Renovation  to  the  church  sanctuary  in  1971  and  1972. 
Mr.  Byron  Dunham,  a  member  of  our  Church,  is  also  a  direct  descen- 
dant of  Jonathan  Dunham. 

There  are  eight  Dunham  interments  dating  back  to   1758. 

Edgar  Family 

Thomas  Edgar,  the  common  American  ancestor  of  the  Edgar 
family  of  New  Jersey,  lies  buried  here.  Born  at  Keithock,  Forfarshire, 
Scotland,  October  19,  1681,  he  came  to  New  Jersey  in  1703  and  died 
June  16,  1759.  He  was  the  son  of  David  Edgar,  Laird  of  Keithock 
and  Kathirine  Forrester  (Fig.  27). 


■Ii'.i  ■r^fc'fi'tJ 


mi  vuaj- 


T 


Mm  mnm  h^M  m 

m  mm 

■ ^^^  _  ^ 

^^il■ll^l^l^ii^liJli  K^  *' 

Fis.   27 


J  is  N  SIT    LNOX 
[  n»B  ,TfAiViiyw  Afc'.ipi-y.»>^  /.■^vHtpg1l^);^ 

UOlUsi  IN  WOODtlUDOU 
I  DLliD  SHl-tn-UliUlL  115,  lUiT 

i-Ru  vi'As  ■mil  tViUauruii  a- 
WlLLliU't  llHOl 

VliO  CiiKtU  l-lvOU  SUM'LAl^D. 


Fig.   28 


Jenett  Edgar,  the  common  American  ancestor  of  the  Edgar  family 
of  New  Jersey,  lies  buried  here.  Born  in  Woodbridge,  March  16,  16S9, 
she  died  September  16,  1767.  She  was  the  daughter  of  William  Knox 
and  Anabel  Gordon  who  came  from  Scotland  (Fig.  28). 

A  son  of  Thomas  and  Jcnelt.  Alexanelcr  by  name,  married  a  Mary 
Smith  whose  father  owned  the  land  now  called  Sewaren. 

The  section  of  the  township  known  as  Edgar  Hill  is  named  after 
a  branch  of  this  family  who  lived  in  that  area  many  years.  This  area 
is  identified  today  by  the  Edgar  Station  stop  of  the  Pennsylvania  Rail- 
road immediately  north  of  the  Woodbridge  station. 

There  are  seventy  Edgar  interments  going  back  to    1  754. 


65 


Fitz  Randolph  Family 

The  Woodbridge  Fitz  Randolphs  are  the  descendants  of  Edward 
Fitz  Randolph  or  Fitz  Randle  of  Scituate  and  Barnstable.  '^  Edward 
was  married  to  Elizabeth  Blosson  at  Scituate  May  10,  1637.  Eliza- 
beth was  born  in  Leyden,  Holland,  in  1620,  daughter  of  Thomas  and 
Ann  Blosson.    She  came  to  New  England  with   her  parents  in   1629. 

Edward  removed  to  Barnstable  in  1639,  among  his  several  chil- 
dren was  Nathaniel  born  May  15,  1642.  Nathaniel,  the  eldest  son  of 
Edward,  was  married  November  1662  to  Mary,  daughter  of  Joseph 
>Ialley.  In  1667  Nathaniel,  who  some  years  before  had  joined  the 
Quakers  and  had  in  consequence  suffered  much  persecution  from  the 
Plymouth  Government,  exchanged  his  house  in  Barnstable  for  lands 
in  Woodbridge  and  removed  his  family  there.  He  represented  Wood- 
bridge  in  the  Provincial  Assembly   1693-1694.    He  died  in   1713. 

A  grandson  of  Nathaniel,  Captain  Nathaniel  Fitz  Randolph  of 
the  Revolutionary  War  fame,  had  two  direct  descendants  now  deceased 
who  were  well  known  to  many  of  the  readers  of  this  report,  namely, 
Asher  Fitz  Randolph,  one  of  the  most  ardent,  faithful  workers  for  the 
Old  White  Church  and  his  sister,  Mittie  Fitz  Randolph  Reynolds. 

Our  Township  Committee  in  1778  thought  so  much  of  the  brave 
deeds  of  Captain  Nathaniel  that  they  ordered  a  sword  for  him  as  a 
"fitting  tribute  to  his  patriotism,  vigilance,  and  bravery  during  the  War." 

Captain  Nathaniel,  while  participating  in  attacks  on  Staten  Island, 
captured  a  number  of  British.  He  was  finally  captured  by  the  British 
and  imprisoned  in  New  York  for  about  a  year  and  a  half.  History 
records  that  he  was  cruelly  treated  and  was  finally  exchanged  for  a 
Captain  Jones,  who  was  captured  by  Fitz  Randolph's  own  men  for  that 
specific  purpose.  After  release  Capt.  Fitz  Randolph  returned  to  active 
service.  He  died  of  wounds  received  in  the  skirmish  near  Springfield, 
New  Jersey,  in  1780  (Fig.  16). 

There  are  some  forty  Fitz  Randolphs  interred  in  our  cemetery. 

Force  Family  '*" 

The  first  Force  to  appear  in  Woodbridge  records  was  Sarah,  wife 
of  Matthew  Force.  She  was  a  witness  to  the  will  of  Robert  Custice  of 
Woodbridge,  dated  1696-97,  March  4,  and  of  whom  an  Edward  Jones 
was  made  "universal  heir  and  executer,"  a  fact  which  is  important,  as 
the  Jones  were  kin  to  the  Forces. 

Another  excerpt  from  the  old  records,  "Matthew  Force  had  just 
married  Sarah  Morris,  January  ye  7th,  1696,  by  me,  Samuel  Hale, 
Justice." 


66 


A  Benjamin  I^Orcc  was  by  tar  the  most  iniporlanl  and  prominent 
of  the  Force  family.  He  was  early  a  leader  in  the  Church,  a  member 
of  the  Town  Committee,  and  Moderator  in  1727.  He  was  originally 
from  Dorchester,  Massachusetts. 

There  are  five  interments  in  the  Force  Plot;  the  oldest  dated  1733. 

Ford  or  Foord  Family 

John  Ford,  who  settled  in  Woodbridge  in  1700  or  earlier,  came 
from  Duxbury,  Massachusetts.  He  was  the  son  of  William  Ford  and 
was  bom  in  1659.  He  was  a  deacon  in  our  church  in  1708,  and  elder 
in  1710.  He  later  removed  to  Morris  County,  New  Jersey,  where  he 
became  interested  in  iron  mines  and  forges.  ''    He  died  in  May  1724. 

Samuel  Ford  and  Jacob,  Jr.  were  sons  of  John  Ford  and  Elizabeth 
Freeman.  The  latter  was  a  tavern  owner  and  iron  manufacturer  and 
was  for  many  years  a  county  judge. 

In  Morristown  the  Fords  built  the  oak-planked,  ship-caulked 
house  which  became  Washington's  personal  headquarters  during  the 
winter  when  the  Revolutionary  War  troops  were  encamped  there.  Being 
engaged  in  the  "blooming  iron  works,"  the  Ford  family  manufactured 
shot  and  shell  for  the  Revolutionary  Army. 

Fords  Corner  or  Fords,  as  it  is  now  known,  was  named  after  this 
family.  "^ 

There  are  five  interments  in  the  Ford  Plot. 

Freeman  Family 

Henry  Freeman,  a  first  settler,  came  here  sometime  before  1700. 
He  was  married  on  May  16,  1695,  in  Woodbridge  to  Elizabeth  Bowne. 
She  was  the  daughter  of  Judge  James  Bcmne  and  his  wife  Mary  Stout. 

Henry,  who  became  known  as  Judge  Freeman,  was  born  in  1670 
and  became  a  prominent  figure  in  the  early  days  of  the  Province  of 
East  Jersey.  He  was  sturdy  in  his  assertion  of  the  rights  of  the  Colonists 
against  the  encroachment  of  the  royal  governors,  who,  nevertheless, 
recognized  his  worth  by  long  continued  appointments  as  one  of  the  six 
judges  of  the  common  pleas  of  Middlesex  County.  He  was  buried  in 
the  church  burial  ground,  having  died  in  his  94th  year  Oct.   10,   1763. 

The  descendants  of  Henry  Freeman  and  his  brother  Edward  Free- 
man represent  a  group  of  American  citizens  ever  keen  to  both  the  rights 
and  duties  of  State  and  CcMiimunity. 

Dr.  Ellis  Barron  Freeman,  M.D.,  born  in  1807,  died  at  the  age 
of  70  in  the  year  1  877,  and  his  son.  Dr.  Samuel  Edgar  Freeman,  M.D., 

67 


born  in  1835,  died  in  1904  at  69  years  of  age.    Both  served  this  com- 
munity as  highly  respected  physicians. 

There  are  some  fifty  Freemans  interred  in  our  burial  grounds. 

Heard  Family 

John  Heard,  a  first  settler,  presumably  came  from  Salisbury, 
Massachusetts,  and  removed  to  Woodbridge  in  1681.  He  was  married 
to  a  sister  of  John  Allen  of  Woodbridge. 

John  Heard,  by  trade,  was  a  cooper.  He  died  in  1720.  He  had 
a  son  John  born  in  1681  who  married  in  1722  Mary,  a  daughter  of 
Israel  Thornell.    John,  Jr.  died  on  March  2.   1757,  age  seventy-six. 

Others  of  this  family  were  Samuel,  William,  James,  and  the  best 
known  and  most  famous.  General  Nathaniel  Heard  of  Revolutionary 
War  fame. 

The  General  was  one  of  the  first  to  take  up  arms  against  the 
British  in  1775.  He  raised  a  body  of  troops  which  he  placed  at  the 
disposition  of  the  Provincial  Congress.  He  was  first  a  Colonel  of  the 
first  Middlesex  Regiment;  afterward  Colonel  of  a  battalion  of  Minute 
Men;  later  Colonel  of  a  battalion  named  in  his  honor;  then  he  was 
made  Brigadier  General  in  the  Continental  Army  and  continued  to 
hold  that  rank  in  the  local  militia. 

He  suffered  heavy  penalties  at  the  hands  of  the  British.  His  dwell- 
ing and  outside  buildings  were  destroyed.  The  British  also  appropri- 
ated to  their  use,  one  thousand  bushels  of  his  grain,  seventy  tons  of 
hay,  one  thousand  pounds  of  fence,  twenty-two  hogshead  of  cider,  and 
two  horses.   The  whole  lot  valued  at  over  two  thousand  pounds  sterling. 

The    General    died    at    age        'S 
sixty-two   on   October   28,    1792 
(Fig.  29).  This  stone  is  set  hori-        ? 
zonlally  on  top  of  the  gnumd. 

The  Heard  name  will  live  as 
long  as  there  is  a  WocKlbridge. 
Heard's  Brook,  which  commences 
in  the  Western  section  of  the  town 

and  which  flows  eastward  to  emp-  '"   ~ 

ty  into  the  salt  meadows  and  which  so  many  times  has  flooded  School, 
Pearl  Streets  and  Rahway  Avenue,  is  named  after  this  family. 

There  are  fifteen  intennents  in  the  Heard  Plot  dating  back  to  1736. 


68 


Gil  mail   Fcuuily 

Long  before  1674-75  Charles  Oilman  arrived  in  East  Jersey  with 
two  servants  and  purchased  rights.  He  was  one  of  the  senior  con- 
tractors of  the  Woodbridge  Charter,  of  July  7,  1668,  as  well  as  an 
assignee  there  with  John  Martin,  Hugh  Dunn,  Hopewell  Hull  and  Rob- 
ert Dennis. 

The  Gilmans  came  from  Hingham  and  Rehoboth,  Massachusetts. 
In  this  area  they  originally  settled  in  Piscataway  but  some  members  of 
the  family  settled  in  Woodbridge. 

There  are  eleven  Oilman  interments  in  our  cemetery. 

Hiide  Family 

Adam  Hude.  First  Settler,  was  quite  a  useful  man  in  Woodbridge. 
He  came  to  New  Jersey  from  Scotland  in  1685  in  the  good  ship  "Henry 
and  Frances."  In  1718  he  was  appointed  one  of  the  judges  of  the  court 
of  Common  Pleas  in  Middlesex  County  and  soon  after  became  the 
presiding  judge,  a  position  that  he  held  for  many  years. 

Adam  built  a  residence  about  one  mile  north  of  our  church  on 
the  road  to  Rahway.  In  the  old  records  Adam  is  knt^wn  as  a  weaver 
by  trade.    He  died  on  June  17,   1746  in  his  85th  year  (4-5:  D-E). 

On  the  tombstone  of  his  wife  is  engraved  the  following:  "Marion 
Hude.    She  died  November  30,  1732,  having  been  wife  of  Adam  Hude, 
Esq.  for  ye  space  of  46  years." 
Ilsley  becomes  Inslee  Family 

It  is  very  doubtful  that  there  was  other  than  the  original  Illsley 
family  at  Woodbridge,  though  Inslee,  Enslee  and  other  variations  were 
used  after  1700.  William  Jr.,  Elisha,  and  John,  all  brothers,  were  first 
settlers  in  Woodbridge  by  1674.  They  came  from  Newbury,  Massa- 
chusetts. Elisha  was  a  quit  renter  for  172  acres  and  John  for  160  acres 
in  1684-85.  There  are  at  least  twenty-hve  Inslee  interments  going  back 
to  1736.  Among  these  are  those  of  two  infants  btirn  in  China,  children 
of  the  Rev.  Elias  B.  and  Euphemia. 

Jaqiiesh   or  Jaa/ncs  Family 

The  birth  of  several  children  to  Henry  Jacques  was  recorded  be- 
tween 1674  and  1679.  Henry  was  probably  the  son  of  Henry  Jacques 
Sr.  of  Newbury  who  came  there  in  1640.  Henry  Sr.  was  married 
October  8,  1648  to  Ann  Knight  and  had  a  son,  Henry  Jr.,  born  July 
30,  1649.    Henry  Sr.  and  Henry  Jr.  received  a  jtiint  grant  of  368  acres. 

In  passing,  and  lor  future  records,  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  a 
goodly   part   of  the   New   Woculbridge   Shopping   Center   between   old 

69 


Metuchen  Avenue  and  Route  9,  was  for  many  years  identified  as  the 
Jacques  farm,  then  as  the  Jacques  Clay  Bank,  and  through  the  years 
was  the  production  source  of  milhons  of  tons  of  sand  and  first  quaUty 
refractory  clays. 

There  are  twenty-six  Jacques  interments  in  our  burial  ground, 
going  back  to  1722,  and  there  are  additional  members  of  this  family 
interred  in  the  Episcopal  graveyard  directly  across  Trinity  Lane. 

Ke}it  Family 

The  Kents  are  descendants  of  Stephen  Kent  of  Newbury,  who 
came  from  Southampton,  England  in  the  ship  "Confidence"  in  1638 
with  a  wife,  Margery  and  four  or  five  servants.  He  was  sworn  a  free- 
man May  22,  1639.  Stephen  Sr.  later  removed  to  Haverhill  before 
coming  to  VVoodbridge.  '°  Stephen  Sr.  was  given  a  grant  of  249  acres; 
his  son,  Stephen  Jr..  a  grant  of  104  acres. 

The  interments  in  the  Kent  plot  date  back  to  1761. 

March  or  Marsh  Family 

Hugh  Marsh,  carpenter,  came  from  Newberry,  Massachusetts.  He 
and  his  son  George  paid  quit  rents  in  1684.  Hugh  Marsh  received  a 
grant  of  320  acres.  Both  Hugh  and  George  were  mentioned  in  the  town 
records  as  early  as  1667.  The  name  of  Mary  Marsh,  a  daughter  of 
Hugh,  was  recorded  in  the  marriage  registry  of  March  27,  1691  when 
she  became  the  wife  of  Isaac  Tappen. 

There  are  sixteen  interments  in  the  Marsh  plot. 

Martin  Family 

We  are  concerned  over  the  origin  of  that  illustrious  John  Martin, 
Original  Grantee  and  First  Settler  of  Piscataway  in  1 664  or  thereabouts. 
He  came  from  the  Piscataqua  section  of  New  Hampshire  where  he  had 
married  Esther  or  Hester  Roberts,  daughter  of  the  First  Governor  of 
New  Hampshire,  Thomas  Roberts  and  his  wife  Rebecca,  nee  Hilton. 

John  Martin  was  the  head  of  what  became  a  large  New  Jersey 
descendancy;  intermarriage  with  other  first  settler  families  made  this 
lineage  very  important.  To  his  lineage  belonged  in  New  Jersey  that 
famous  Luther  Martin  of  the  Constitutional  Convention. 

John  Martin  had  been  at  Dover,  New  Hampshire  1648-1666. 
While  first  entered  at  Piscataway  he  was  really  a  First  Settler  of  Wood- 
bridge  1676-1687,  and  as  such  received  a  grant  of  255  acres. 

There  are  fifty-two  interments  in  various  Martin  plots  in  our 
burial  grounds. 

70 


Moore  or  Moore s  Family 

Sanuiel  and  Matllicw  Moore  or  Moores  whose  children's  births 
are  among  tlie  earhest  of  the  names  in  the  Woodbridge  records,  came 
from  Newbury,  Massachusetts.  Samuel  Moore,  born  1630,  died  May 
27,  1688,  was  quite  a  prominent  man  in  the  early  history  of  Wood- 
bridge  and  was  for  many  years  town  clerk.  Samuel  received  a  grant  of 
356  acres  and  Matthew,  a  grant  of  177  acres. 

There  are  some  sixty-three  interments  in  the  various  Moore  and 
Moores  Plots. 

Pain  or  Paine  Family 

Nathaniel  and  Peter  Pain  were  First  Settlers.  Their  ancestry  is 
interesting  since  they  are  alliliated  with  the  notable  Freeman  family. 
In  1710  Peter  and  his  wife  were  members  of  our  Presbyterian  Church. 
One  record  of  1685  mentions  an  Anna  Pain.  "She  had  a  sweet  tooth 
and  appropriated  three  gallons  of  molasses  of  Benjamin  Hull,  as  his 
descendant  served  her  right."  ^° 

Peter  died  July  10,   1756.    Nathaniel  died  July  20,  1733. 

Parker  Family 

The  Parkers  of  Woodbridge  came  from  Staten  Island  and  were 
probably  of  the  same  family  of  those  who  about  that  time  settled  in 
Monmouth  County.  Elisha  Parker,  Sr.  received  his  first  grant  of  1  82 
acres  in  Woodbridge  in  1675.  In  1694  he  was  appointed  High  Sheriff 
of  Middlesex;  represented  the  County  in  the  Assembly  in  1707  and 
in  1711  became  a  member  of  Gov.  Hunters  Council.  By  his  first  wife, 
Elizabeth,  he  had  a  son  Samuel  who  was  the  father  of  James  Parker, 
the  Printer.  Elisha's  son  John  Sr.  was  a  Colonel  of  the  provincial  forces 
and  was  a  member  of  the  Council  1719-1732.  John  Sr.  had  a  son, 
John,  who  served  with  great  distinction  in  the  French-Indian  Wars 
1756-1759.    Benjamin   Parker,  a  joiner,  a  grant  of   105   acres. 

There  are  seven  Parker  interments  in  our  cemetery  going  back 
to  1732. 

Pike  Family 

Captain  John  Pike  of  Newbury  came  to  Woodbridge  early  in  1665 
and  became  the  eighth  of  the  associates  and  one  of  its  most  prominent 
men.  In  1 666  articles  of  agreement  were  signed  between  him  and 
Governor  Carteret,  whereby  the  colony  was  formed  at  Woodbridge 
over  which  he  was  appointed  Judge  and  later  Governor.  The  records 
of  the  Pike  family  state  that  he  was  on  Governor  Carteret's  staff  for 
many  years. 


7! 


Far  ahead  of  his  time  in  his  hfe  and  influence  he  was  a  man  who 
did  much  to  revolutionize  and  advance  the  religious  thought  of  his  day. 
It  would  be  correct  to  say  that  he  held  every  Civil  oflice  within  the  gift 
or  appointment  of  the  colony  during  his  illustrious  career.  He  died  in 
January  1688-89. 

No  monument  presently  marks 
the  grave  of  Capt.  John  Pike,  but 
the  grave  of  his  son,  Judge  John 
Pike  who  died  in  August  1714,  is 
marked  as  is  those  of  six  other 
members  of  this  family  interred  in 
the  Pike  plots  (Fig.  30). 

Major  John  Pike  of  Revolu- 
tionary War  fame  and  his  son, 
General  Zebulen  Montgomery 
Pike,  famed  explorer  and  army 
officer,  were  of  this  family.  Pike's 
Peak  in  Colorado  is  named  after 
General      Zebulon       Montgomery 

since   he   discovered   and   mapped  ! 

it  in  1806.  He  was  killed  in  1  8  1  3 
while  fighting  against  the  British 
in  the  War  ol'  1812.  Fig.  30 

An  interesting  anecdote  regarding  Capt.  John  Pike  came  to  my 
attention  while  doing  the  research  for  this  discourse.  "He  (Capt.  John 
Pike)  filled  several  ollices  and  was  an  active  citizen  of  Newbury.  On 
one  occasion,  in  May  1638,  it  is  recorded  that  'John  Pike  shall  pay 
two  shillings  and  six  pence  for  departing  from  this  (town)  meeting 
without  leave  and  contemptiously.' "  (These  early  settlers  came  from 
stern,  disciplined,  rule-abiding  folks.)  Capt.  John  Pike  Sr.  received 
a  grant  of  308  acres.    Judge  John  Pike  Jr.  received  91  acres. 

Potter  Family 

Marmaduke  Potter  was  bom  in  Stony  Stratford,  England  in  1645. 
He  came  to  America  in  1664  with  two  brothers.  One  brother  settled 
in  Stonington,  Connecticut  and  the  other  in  Toms  River,  New  Jersey.  ^' 

Marmaduke  settled  originally  in  Piscataway.  He  married  Mary 
Brugley  in  November  of  1677,  and  was  admitted  to  the  class  of  Free- 
holders on  February  4,  1686  by  virtue  of  purchase  of  land.  He  took 
the  oath  of  allegiance  and  hdelity  with  other  settlers  of  Woodbridge 
on  February  27,  1667.    He  sold  land  in  Woodbridge  before  1684-85. 


72 


He  died  December  19,  1694  and  was  buried  in  Piscataway.  Major 
Reuben  Potter  (  1719-1799)  of  Revolutionary  War  tame  was  a  grand- 
son of  Marmaduke. 

There  are  some  twenty-nine  Potter  interments  going  back  to  1762. 

Robinson  Family 

John  Robinson,  First  Settler,  son  of  the  first  Andrew  Robinson  of 
Woodbridge  was  a  signer  of  the  Concession  1685,  and  a  member  of  the 
Assembly  and  Council  1685. 

Andrew  Robinson  was,  in  his  day,  a  famous  surveyor.  He  was 
quit  renter  for  ninety-two  acres  in  1696.  "Quit  Rent"  price  was  1^2  p 
per  acre  per  annum  in  nearly  all  cases.  His  original  grant  was  dated 
December  28,   1694-96  for  ninety-four  acres. 

John  Robinson  was  a  member  of  Reverend  Wade's  church  in  1708; 
a  Constable  for  Woodbridge  1711-1712;  1714-1716;  1718-1719. 

The  Robinson  plot  is  in  area  6-7;  D-E  with  interments  back  to 
1746. 

Smith  Family 

It  is  difhcult  to  determine  whether  the  Smiths  of  Woodbridge, 
whose  names  are  found  in  the  records,  are  all  of  the  same  family. 

One  of  the  earliest  settlers  was  John  Smith,  millwright.  He  ap- 
pears to  have  been  quite  a  prominent  and  active  citizen. 

He  acted  as  Moderator  of  the  first  town  meetings  which  were  held 
in  his  home,  was  afterward  a  Deputy  to  the  Assembly  and  an  Associate 
Judge.  He  was  one  of  the  original  Associates  with  Daniel  Pierce  and 
is  named  in  the  Agreement  as  "John  Smith  of  Barnstable." 

In  1643  John  married  Susanna  Hinckley,  whose  brother  Thomas 
later  became  Governor  of  New  Jersey.  Their  children  were  Samuel, 
born  April  1644  and  twelve  others,  born  between  1644  and  1668, 
viz.  Sarah,  Ebenezer,  Mary,  Doreas,  John,  Shubaal,  John  (2),  Ben- 
jamin, Ichabod,  Elizabeth,  Thomas,  and  Joseph.  Samuel,  Thomas,  and 
Ichabod  Smith  all  had  children  whose  births  are  recorded  in  the  old 
Woodbridge  records. 

In  1677,  after  residing  several  years  in  Woodbridge,  he  returned 
to  New  England  having  exchanged  his  house  and  land  in  Woodbridge 
for  a  house  and  lot  in  Barnstable  belonging  to  Nathaniel  Fitz  Randolph. 

John  Smith,  the  Scotsman,  received  a  grant  of  176  acres.  Samuel 
Smith  received  a  grant  of  103  acres  in  1676.  The  Richard  Smith  of 
the  old  records  was  probably  a  different  family.    Historians  ^^  think  it 

73 


probable  that  most  of  the  Smiths  who  became  so  numerous  in   the 
Woodbridge  vicinity  descended  from  him. 

Tap  pan  Family 

The  Tappans,  First  Settlers,  were  the  descendants  of  Abraham 
Tappan  of  Newbury,  who  was  made  a  freeman  there  May  2,  1638. 
He  was  one  of  the  signers  of  the  Articles  of  Agreement  between  Gov. 
Carteret  in  behalf  of  the  Lord  Proprietors  and  the  early  settlers  on 
May  21,  1666.  Early  Settler  Isaac  Tappan  received  a  grant  of  95 Vi 
acres  in  Woodbridge. 

There  are  thirty-eight  interments  in  various  Tappan  plots  going 
back  to  1748. 


74 


Section      jy 
vUcir       Ueterans     interred 

On  Fame's  eternal  camping  ground 

Their  busy  tents  are  spread 
And  Glory  guards,  with  solemn  Round, 

The  bivouac  of  the  Dead. 
Rest  on  embelmed  and  sainted  dead. 

Dear  as  the  blood  ye  gave 
No  impious  footsteps  here  shall  tread 

The  herbage  of  your  grave.* 

All  around  us  as  we  stand  on  the  consecrated  ground  are  the  un- 
pretentious memorials  of  the  Revolutionary  War  Veterans  as  well  as 
to  those  of  subsequent  wars  in  which  our  nation  has  been  a  contender. 

A  hst  of  Revolutionary  War  Veterans  as  compiled  some  years 
ago  by  the  Janet  Gage  Chapter  of  Daughters  of  the  Revolution  of 
Woodbridge,  New  Jersey  follows: 

(The  numerals  and  initials  shown  indicate  the  location  of  the 
various  plots  on  our  cemetery  map. ) 

Died  Sept.  9,  1850  (7-8:  C-D) 
Died  August   14,   1791 

(4-5:  B-C) 
Died  Apr.  1,  1810     (4-5;  B-C) 
Died  Feb.  26,  1836 
Died    1838  (3-4;  B-C) 

Died  May  27,  1807  (4-5;  E-F) 
Died  Jan.  15,  1828  (3-4;  E-F) 
Died  Feb.  6,  1837  (3-4;  C-D) 
Died  Sept.  7,  1830  (4-5;  C-D) 
Died  Mar.  31,  1782  (6-7;  C-D) 

*From  tablet  in  Finn's  Point  National  Cemetery  near  Pennsville,  N.  J. 

75 


Alston,  Thomas 

1758 

Bloomfield,  Dr.   Moses 

1729 

(Fig.  31) 

Bloomfield,  Jonathan 

1735 

Barron,  John 

1760 

Brown,  Col.  Benjamin  A. 

1764 

Barron,  Capt.  Ellis 

1736 

Brown,  John 

1751 

Brewster,  Timothy 

Bloomfield,  Thomas 

1752 

Brown.  William 

1749 

Brown,  Thomas 
Clarksoii,  Randolph 
Clarkson,  Jeremiah 
Cutter,  Stephen 
Cutter,  Campy  on 
Crowell,  Edward 
Crowell,  Joseph 
Cutter,  Kelsey 
Crow,  Col.  Samuel 
Coddington.  Joseph 
Coddington,  James 
Coddington.  Robert 
Cutter,  Samuel 
Clarkson,  John 
Cutter.  Deacon  William 
Dally,  Samuel 
Edgar,  General  Clarkson 
Edgar,  Thomas 
Edgar,  Capt.  David 

(The   spirited   cavalrym 
Edgar,   James 
Freeman,  Henry 
Freeman,  Jonathan 
Freeman,  Henry 
Heard.  Gen.  Nathaniel 
Harriot,  George 
Harriot,  David 
Harriot,  Ephraim 
Hadden,  Thomas 
Hadden,  Thomas  Jr. 
Inslee,  John 
Jones,  Wilham 
Manning,  John 
Manning,  Jeremiah 
Martin,  William 
Martin,  David 
Marsh,  Capt.  Christopher 
Moores,  Daniel 
Noe,  Peter 
Noe,  John 

Potter,  Major  Reuben 
Randolph,  Capt.  N.  Fitz 

(Fig.    16) 


1727 

Died 

Oct. 

28, 

1781 

[5-6; 

CD) 

1759 

Died 

Mar. 

13 

1833 

1752 

Died 

Mar. 

23, 

1813 

1747 

Died  June 

20, 

1823 

(1-2; 

C-D) 

1753 

Died 

Apr. 

28, 

1832 

1759 

Died 

1800 

(3-4; 

C-D) 

1760 

Died 

Mar. 

18 

1834 

1750 

Died 

Mar. 

7, 

1798 

(3-4 

E-F) 

1741 

Died 

Mar. 

15, 

1801 

(4-5 

E-F) 

1754 

Died 

Apr. 

30, 

1806 

(3-4; 

F-G) 

1755 

Died 

Mar. 

2, 

1816 

1760 

Died 

Aug. 

15, 

1833 

(4-5; 

F-G) 

1761 

Died 

May 

1, 

1805 

(7-8 

;  E-F) 

1744 

Died 

Aug. 

1, 

1801 

(7-8; 

D-E) 

1722 

Died 

Mar. 

4, 

1780 

(8-9 

;  E-F) 

1732 

Died 

Mar. 

1  1, 

1784 

(6-7; 

C-D) 

1756 

Died 

July 

21, 

1816 

(5-6 

F-G) 

1746 

Died  July 

31, 

1812 

(3-4; 

A-B) 

1750 

Died 

Sept. 

6, 

1810 

(E-7) 

an ) 
1748 

Died 

Jan. 

8, 

1815 

(4-5 

D-E) 

1717 

Died  July 

16, 

1784 

(5-6 

A-B) 

1763 

Died  Nov. 

10, 

1843 

(3-4 

A-B) 

1760 

Died 

Mar. 

7, 

1838 

(3-4 

A-B) 

1729 

Died  Oct. 

28, 

1792 

(4-5 

C-D) 

1720 

Died  Mar. 

24, 

1802 

(6-7 

A-B) 

1717 

Died  Nov. 

5, 

1792 

(6-7 

A-B) 

1752 

Died 

Sept. 

15, 

1833 

(6-7 

A-B) 

1760 

Died 

July 

30, 

1803 

(4-5 

,  A-B) 

1736 

Died 

Sept 

1784 

1746 

Died 

Apr. 

23, 

1791 

(5-6 

D-E) 

1754 

Died 

Apr. 

6, 

1839 

(7-8 

;  B-C) 

1755 

Died  Aug. 

22, 

1832 

(4-5 

;  F-G) 

1736 

Died 

June 

10 

1803 

(E-21) 

1756 

Died 

Aug 

6, 

1824 

(5-6 

;  F-G) 

1760 

Died  Feb. 

13, 

1808 

(4-5 

;  F-G) 

1742 

Died  Oct. 

26, 

1810 

(4-5 

;  D-E) 

1728 

Died 

Apr. 

28, 

1792 

(4-5 

,  CD) 

1750 

Died 

Sept 

2^ 

1819 

(7-8 

;  F-G) 

1722 

Died  Mar. 

20 

1796 

(7-8 

;  F-G) 

1717 

Died  Mar 

25 

,  1799 

(6-7 

;  CD) 

1747 

Died 

July 

23, 

1780 

(5-6 

;  D-E) 

76 


Randolph.  Capt.  A.  Fitz      1755  Died  Apr.  16,  1817    (3-4:  D-E) 

Paton,  Lieut.  James  1758  Died  Nov.  6,   1816      (4-5;   B-C) 

(Known   as  the  courageous  Scotch    Patriot) 
Tappen.  Capt.  Abraham^     1756  Died  Sept.  29,  1799  (5-6;  F-G) 

Endeavor  has  been  made  to  list  all  those  who  served  our  nation 
in  wars  other  than  the  Revolutic)n,  and  whose  remains  are  interred  in 
our  burial  grounds.  If  any  names  have  been  overlooked,  sincere  apology 
is  offered.    After  exhaustive  search,  the  following  is  submitted: 


Fig.  31 

Barron,  Col.  John  C. 

Chief  surgeon,  69th  N.  Y.  Vol. 
^  Born  Nov.  2,  1837 
Brown,  Abram 
Bellaney,  Sgt.  Harrison 
Barton,   Gen.  William  B. 


Fig.   32 

Civil  War 

Died  Feb.  6,  1908 

Died   1887 

Co.  F.,  N.  Y.  Eng. 

(Fig.   32) 


(9-10;  H-J) 

(9-10;  F-G) 

(8-9;  F-G) 

(3-4;  B-C) 


Civil  War,  Brevet  Brig.  Gen.,  Col.  48th  Reg.  N.  Y.  State 
Vols.  Commander  2nd  Brigade,  2nd  Division,  11th  Army 
Corps,  Army  of  the  James;  and  son  of  Rev,  William  B.  Bar- 
ton, Pastor  of  the  old  White  Church  from  1822  to  1852. 


Bird,  William 
Baker,  Harry  J.  Jr. 
Cook,  William 
Conway,  John 
Dally,  Clarence  W. 


WWI 


Died  1907 
Died  1941 
Died  1914 
1709-1765 
1865-1904 


(3-4;  A-B) 
(4-5;  A-B) 
(4-5;  A-B) 
(Sec.  H,  row  4) 
(7-8;  B-C) 


77 


Dally,   Marcus  L. 

1911-1953 

(7-8;  B-C) 

Devanny,  Earl  H. 

WWI  and  WWII       (9-10;  B-C) 

See  sect,  under  former  pastors 

Dally,  Capt.  Charles 

1843-1926  C. 

War     (7-8;  B-C) 

Early,  Edward 

WWI 

Died    1963 

(11-12;  C-D) 

Edgar,  Capt.   Peter 

Died   1831 

(3-4;  A-B) 

Flood,  Augustine 

1840-1925  C 

War    (6-7;  B-C) 

Faulkner,   David 

Co.  G.  52  N.Y.  Inf.  (3-4;  D-E) 

Farrell,  Charles,  US  Navy,  WWI 

1896-1919 

(9-10;  B-C) 

Freeman,  Samuel  E., 

US  Navy 

Died   1924 

(8-9;  A-B) 

Gage,  Thomas 

(1-2;  B-C) 

Greiner,  August  F. 

WWI 

1893-1965 

(3-4;  B-C) 

Gardner,   Marion  Lester 

Died    1963 

(4-5;  A-B) 

WWI  Red  Cross  Nurse 

Hall,  John 

Died    1894 

(Sec.  H,  Row2) 

Holmes,  Teddy 

Died    1919 

(5-6;  J-K) 

Hart,  E.  B. 

Died    1903 

(10-11;  F-G) 

Hinsdale,  Samuel  B. 

1847-1903 

(5-6;  J-K) 

Co.  H,  151  Reg.,  3rd  Inf.  Vol. 

Hunt,  John 

WWI 

1894-1956 

(6-7;  B-C) 

Inslee,  Isaac 

Civil  War 

Died    1862 

(2-3;  B-C) 

Jackson,  J.  T. 

Civil  War 

(C-3) 

Lee,  John  F. 

Civil  War 

1842-1910 

(8-9;  H-J) 

1st  Sgt.,  N.  J.  Infantry 

La  Forge,  Jefferson 

1844-1880 

(7-8;  E-F) 

La  Forge,  George  W. 

1843-1895 

(7-8;  E-F) 

Leber,  Wendolyn 

WWI 

Died    1970 

(Row  4,  Sec.  L) 

Lorch,  William 

WWI 

Died    1952 

(10-11;  D-E) 

Lockwood,  Stanley 

Died    1929 

(9-10;  J-K) 

Lewis,  John 

Died   1930 

(5-6;  C-D) 

Larson,  John  R.  Jr. 

Died    1934 

(11-12;  G-H) 

Mawbey,  Frederick  R 

Died    1950 

(11-12;  G-H) 

McElroy,  Thomas 

Civil  War 

(6-7;  H-J) 

Marty,  Charles 

Died    1918 

(10-11;  K-L) 

Meder,  Louis 

Died   1919 

(10-11;  K-L) 

Mundy,  Harry 

Died    1949 

(8-9;  D-E) 

Osborne,  Colonel  Henry 

1769-1839 

(6-7;  F-G) 

Meng,  Hans 

Died   1962 

(8-9;  E-F) 

Reyder,  Harry 

WWI 

1897-1967 

(Row  6N,  Sec.  L) 

Peterson,  Peter  E. 

Died    1952 

(5-6;  B-C) 

Schumarty,  Charles 

us  Navy 

1846-1889 

(8-9;  C-D) 

Mabie,  Warner,  W.  G. 

(H-1) 

Co.  G,  42nd  N.  Y. 

Infantry 

78 


ShroLirds,  William  H. 

Nichanck.  Henry  F. 

Simonscn,  Hdvvard  WWI 

Slugg,  Clarence  H. 

Terp.  Thomas 

Turner,  \V.  F. 

Co.  E,   14  N.  J.  Infantry 
Truner,  H.  C. 
Tufts,  William  E. 
Tappen,  Capt.   David 
Tappen,  Charles 
Turner,   Lieut.   John   F. 

Co.  C.  79th  N.  Y.  Infantry 
Trost,  Edward  WWI 

Treen,  Charles  WWI 

Treen,  William  WWI 

Van  Wagner.  Louis  A.     C.  War 

Co.   C,   102  Reg.,  Ohio  Vols. 
Webber,  John  Civil  War 

Co.  F.  2cS  N.J.  Infantry 
Wilson,  John 

Wilson.  Henry  R.  US  Navy 

Williams,  Joseph  Carl 

Captain,  Co.   A,  41V 
Wand,  Alexander  H.  WWI 

Lockie.  James  WWII 

Kilmer,  Edward  WWII 

Schumann.  Leo  WWII 

Anness,  Charles  WWI 

Young,  Richard  H.  WWII 


1844-1907 

(7-8; 

A-B 

1894-1951 

(11-12; 

D-E 

Died  1923 

(7-8; 

F-G 

1895-1944 

(1  1-12; 

F-G 

Died  1918 

(5-6; 

A-B 

Died  1934 

(5-6; 

G-H 

Died  1921 

(7-8 

J-K 

1831-1898 

(6-7; 

G-H 

1813-1896 

(6-7; 

G-H 

1839-1886 

(Sec.  4 

(7-8; 

D-E 

Died  1968 

(Row  1,  Sec. 

K-L 

Died  1951 

(5-6; 

H-J 

Died  1952 

(5-6; 

H-J 

1842-1864 

(5-6; 

G-H 

(6-7 

J-K 

(5-6; 

H-J 

1844-1916 

(6-7; 

D-E 

(11-12; 

D-E 

Died   1949  (7-8;  C-D 

1917-1970  (Sec.  L,  R  2,  11-12 
Died  1970  (Sec.  L,  R  3-16-17 
1923-1972  (Sec.  L-M,  R  5-1-2 
1900-1973  (Sec.  L,  R  4N  5-6 
1929-1947  (11-12;  E-F 


79 


Section      l^ 
^ntcrnicnti     ^J^avinn      i^nuSual    interest    ^^npeai 


Fig.  33  shows  tombstones  of  the 
DE  LaFlechcUe  Family.  Alphonse 
Pierre  Marie  DE  LaFlechelle  was 
"Deputy  CoLinsui  from  the  Court  of 
France."  He  died  October  12,  1847, 
age  fifty-six.  In  addition  to  his 
monument  are  those  for  his  widow, 
Elizabeth  Burton  Fitzgerald  DE  La- 
Flechelle, and  their  three  daughters. 
Elizabeth  Burton  Fitgerald  DE  La- 
1855.  Evidence  of  great  tragedy 
is  apparent  from  the  death  dates 
of  their  three  daughters,  Zelma 
Catherine  and  Elizabeth  Edmire, 
who  died  on  successive  days,  March 
19  and  20,  1834,  and  Louise  M., 
who  died  in  March   1837. 


^--V 

't-^% 


Fiu.   33 


This  interment  of  the  family  of  a  French  civil  servant  in  our  burial 
ground  has  created  unusual  interest.  Letters  in  reply  to  our  query 
from  the  Department  of  Foreign  Affairs  in  Paris,  France,  advised  that 
Alphonse  had  been  the  chief  secretary  of  the  French  Embassy  in  Dub- 
lin, Ireland  in  1814.  He  was  in  a  similar  capacity  in  New  York  City 
in  1825,  and  in  Boston  in  1839.  French  records  show  also  that  he 
married  Elizabeth  Burton  Fitzgerald  in  September   1825. 

This  is  all  interesting  information  but  the  intriguing  question  is 
still  —  What  were  the  circumstances  that  brought  the  DE  LaFlechelles 
to  Woodbridge,  and  finally  to  the  church  burial  grounds?  There  is  a 
lapse  of  twenty-one  years  from  the  first  DE  LaFlechelle  interment  in 
1834  to  the  last  in  1855.  In  1834  Alphonse  apparently  represented 
France  in  New  York  City.    Did  he  and  his  family  reside  in  Woodbridge? 

The  French  records  show  that  Alphonse  transferred  from  New 
York  City  to  Boston  in  1839.  Even  so,  on  his  death  in  1847  he  was 
interred  in  Woodbridge. 


80 


His  widow,  Elizabeth  Burton  Fitzgerald  DE  LaFlechelle,  survived 
her  husband.  Alphonsc,  by  eight  years.  Was  there  famly  or  close  friends 
iiere  in  Woodbridge  with  wiiom  she  resided  during  those  years? 

Mary  Conplon  Ccunphcll  ( Fig.  34 ) 

She  was  the  daughter  of  Wilham  and  Mary  Compton.  On  her 
monument  is  engraved  the  following: 

'in  memory  of  Mary,  wife  of  Caleb  Campbell  who  died  Febru- 
ary 15.   1735  age  sixty-seven  years  and  three  months." 
"The  first  born  child  in  Woodbridge." 


^ 


Fii 


^5 


Fig.   34 

Ruth  Woodbridge  Pier  son  (Fig.  35) 

Ruth  was  a  granddaughter  of  John  Woodbridge  after  whom  our 
town  is  named.  Baptized  on  August  18,  1695,  she  was  the  wife  of 
Rev.  John  Pierson,  pastor  of  our  church  from  1714  to   1754. 

Engraved  on  her  tombstone,  which  rests  horizontally  on  the  ground 
over  her  grave,  are  engraved  the  following  words: 

"Here  is  interred  ye  Precious  Remains  of  Mrs.  Ruth  Pierson,  wife 
of  ye  Rev.  Mr.  John  Pierson  and  Daughter  of  ye  Rev.  Mr.  Timo  Wood- 
bridge  of  Hartford  in  N.  E.  Who  fell  asleep  in  Jesus  January  6th,  1732. 
Aetat  38." 

"Reposed  to  rest  in  this  cold  bed  to  Ly 
Remains  of  Meekness  Prudence  Piety: 
The  best  of  Christian  Parents  Wives  and  friends 
Grim  Death  to  this  dark  Um.  remorseless  sends: 
Once  dear  to  all  still  dear  to  Christ  who'll  make 
This  Dust  revive  and  to  his  Likeness  make." 


81 


Inslee,  (Fig.  36)   (2-3;  B-C) 

Children  of  Missionaries  to  China.  This  plot  is  directly  in  the  rear 
of  the  Sunday  School  rooms  along  Pt)rt  Reading  Road. 

The  one  stone  is  engraved  in  memory  of  Alexander  Charles,  son 
of  Rev.  Elias  B.  and  Euphemia  B.  Inslee,  born  in  Ningpo,  China,  Dec. 
18,  1859,  died  in  ButYalo,  New  York,  March  20,  1863. 

The  second  stone  is  engraved,  Euphemia  Helen,  youngest  child  of 
Elias  B.  and  Euphemia  B.  Inslee,  born  in  Song  King  in  Kiany  Su  Fu, 
China,  October  20.  1865.  died  in  Woodbridge,  October  27,  1866, 
having  been  brought  to  this  country  after  her  mother  fell  asleep  in 
Jesus,  February  10,  1866  and  who  remains  at  rest  in  the  missionary 
circle  at  Shanghai,  China. 


JAMES   PARKER 

BORn,  lUDODBRIDGE.  H. J. -1714 
DIED,  BURLinCTOn,  R.  J.- 1770 

FIRST    nnTWE    ntUJ    JERSEV    PRiniER 

tRtCTED    BV    THE 

300  ih  RnniyERSflRy  com  '"Itel 

Of    UJOODBRIDCf    TOUjnSHiK   '<  J 
SEPIEfTlBER    30.  I%0 


^./•■*<- 


F\ii.   37 


Fig.   36 

Parker  (Fig.  37) 

James  Parker,  New  Jersey's  first  native  Printer,  was  born  in  Wood- 
bridge  in  1714.  He  was  the  son  of  Elisha  Parker,  Sr.  who  received  a 
grant  of  land  in  Woodbridge  in   1675. 

James  Parker  entered  the  trade  at  the  early  age  of  eleven  being 
apprenticed  to  William  Bradford,  the  first  printer  in  New  York. 

In  May  1733  at  the  age  of  nineteen,  Parker  ran  away  from  his 
employer.  The  reason  for  his  runaway  is  not  known  nor  is  it  known 
where  he  was  for  the  next  nine  years.  ' 

When  he  came  back  he  revived  the  New  York  Gazette,  which 
had  been  discontinued  by  Bradford,  calling  it  the  Weekly  Post  Bay 
and  began  publishing  in  1742. 


82 


In  1751  Parker  established  his  printing  company  in  Woodbridgc. 
Us  site  was  at  Amboy  Avenue  and  Grove  Street  in  a  gn)ve  of  tall  locust 
trees.    The  St.  James  Roman  Catholic  Church  now  stands  on  the  site. 

He  still  owned  the  Weekly  Post  Bay  in  New  York,  but  now  lived 
in   Woodbridge. 

In  1752  he  began  the  New  American  Magazine,  which  was  pub- 
lished until  1761.  In  addition  to  the  magazine,  his  press  printed  Wood- 
bridge  nuMiey.  the  j^roceedings  of  the  legislature  as  well  as  many  public. 
dt>cuments  and  the  seccMid  volume  of  Nevill's  Laws  of  New  Jersey. 

In  September  1753  Benjamin  Franklin  prevailed  upon  Parker  to 
open  a  ]irinling  shop  in  New  Haven,  Connecticut.  This  operation  did 
not  go  along  smoothly  and  after  many  trials  and  tribulatons,  Parker 
sold  out  in  April   1 762. 

Parker  returned  to  Woodbridge  where  he  had  been  appointed 
printer  to  the  province  of  New  Jersey.  He  became  active  in  the  Church 
of  England,  acted  as  lay  reader  in  the  Trinity  Episcopal  Church  of 
Woodbridge. 

In  1765  Parker  moved  his  press  to  Burlington  io  accommodate 
Samuel  Smith,  the  histcMian  in  the  issue  of  the  history  of  New  Jersey, 
the  manuscript  of  which  is  preserved  in  the  library  of  the  Historical 
Society  at  Newark,  New  Jersey.  Parker  then  moved  the  press  back  to 
Woodbridge  after  the  ct)mpletion  of  the  work. 

He  was  soon  to  become  postmaster  of  New  York  as  well  as  comp- 
troller and  secretary  of  the  postal  department  for  the  Northern  District 
of  the  British  Colonies.  He  continued  his  business  as  a  printer  and  was 
working  at  Burlington  when  his  health  began  to  fail.  He  died  in  1770 
at  the  age  of  56. 

His  remains  were  brought  to  Woodbridge.  His  funeral  services 
were  conducted  by  llie  Chaplain  of  a  regiment  of  British  foot  soldiers, 
and  he  was  interred  in  the  White  Church  Cemetery.  ^ 

On  September  28,  1969,  as  part  of  the  Tercentenary  of  Wood- 
bridge  Tov^'nship  a  monument  was  placed  in  our  cemetery  in  luMior 
of  James  Parker. 

Rolph  (Fig.  38)  "    -  '\^ 

This     fieldstone     monument.  '-l  flP^i-LIrSTH!:. 

placed     in     memory     oii     Richard  .,        ::''.'^y  OT  riCH/'J-.'- 

Rolfe.  is  one  of  the  oldest  in  our  :  ;  ,■        ?^jL^'H"f/j^,GO]-, 

burial  ground,  being  dated  Septem-  ^Jdi       ^  ^rEF-'THE-'''''Tf:f«^ 

her  17n.                 ^  ^i^,'    ,..      :  17/ T- 

The   Roljih   family  is  a  most  •3i?s^.v>r^^-'r->-v^ 

interesting  one.    '  Fiq.  3.^ 


83 


A  Henry  Rolfe  came  from  England  to  Newbury,  Massachusetts 
in  1638.  Henry's  son  Moses  removed  to  Woodbridge  where  he  changed 
his  surname  to  Rolph.  Moses  married  in  1702  the  widow  Higgins, 
nee  Hale. 

The  Woodbridge  Rolphs  were  related  to  John  Rolph  of  James- 
town, Va.,  who  married  Pocahontas,  the  native  Indian  princess.  She 
was  presented  at  the  Court  of  King  James  in  London  where  she  out- 
shone all  the  celebrated  royal  beauties.  She  died  at  Gravesend,  En- 
gland, immediately  prior  to  her  intended  departure  for  the  plantation 
in  Virginia. 

In  addition  to  the  Richard  Rolfe  interment  there  have  been  sev- 
eral other  members  of  this  family  buried  in  our  cemetery. 

Patau  (Fig.  39)    (7-8;  H-J  ) 

Harriet  C.  Cutter  Palon  was  born  1794,  died  December  II,  1876, 
age  eighty-two  years.  With  the  help  of  Sally  and  Jane  Potter,  she  or- 
ganized the  Sabbath  School  or  as  it  is  now  called  the  Sunday  School 
in  June  1818.  This  school,  records  show,  was  one  of  the  first,  if  not 
the  First  Sabbath  School  organized  in  New  Jersey. 


\\ 


ji 


m  ml 

9111 

Mi 

ir 


4 


Fig.   39  Fig.  40 

Roe,  Rebecca  (Fig.  40) 

She  was  the  first  wife  of  Rev.  Azel  Roe  and  daughter  of  Isaac 
and  Mary  Foot  of  Branford,  Connecticut,  died  at  age  fifty-five  on 
September  1,  1794. 


84 


Of  unusual  inlcresl  regarding  this  inlermtMil  is  first,  the  excellent 
condition  of  the  red  sandstone  monument  and  the  clarity  of  the  en- 
graving. Secondly,  the  engraving  was  dt)ne  at  a  local  Wood  bridge 
monument  works.  Down  on  the  lower  right  hand  corner  of  this  monu- 
ment is  the  name,  "H.  Osf-jorn."'  Mr.  Osborn  is  an  ancestor  of  Miss 
Rae  Osborn  who  is  known  lo  many  of  our  readers. 

Mr.  H.  Osborn  and  his  successor  Mr.  Courtland  Parker  Osborn 
had  a  monument  works  on  Main  Street,  Woodbridge,  just  slightly  east 
of  Christensens  Department  Store. " 

Other  mtinuments  also  bear  the  names  of  the  engravers,  E.  Price 
and  Johnathan  Acker  about  whom  we  have  no  additional  information. 


85 


Section       3 
^omn      oLJoclors     ^nterrect     In      Kyur      (^emeieru 


Freeman,  Ellis  Barron.  M.D.,  born   1807,  died  1877  (Fig.  41). 
Freeintuu  Samuel  Edgar,  M.D.,  son  of  Dr.  Ellis. 
Freeman,  Barron,  born  1835,  died   1904. 

On  the  death  of  Dr.  Samuel  Edgar  Freeman  in   1 904  the  news- 
paper of  that  day  printed  the  following: 

"A  Tribute" 

'To  the  Memory  of  Dr.  Samuel  Edgar  Freeman" 

In  the  death  of  Dr.  Samuel  E.  Freeman,  which  occurred  last 
Saturday  evening  at  his  home  on  Prospect  Hill  ^  from  an  attack 
of  apoplexy,  Woodbridge  loses  a  skillful  physician  —  one  who 
stood  high  in  his  profession,  and  who  had  practiced  here  for  over 
thirty  years  —  and  a  valued  citizen.  -  Dr.  Freeman  was  bom  and 
had  always  resided  in  Woodbridge,  with  the  exception  of  his  years 
at  college;  of  Woodbridge  stock;  a  descendant  from  a  union  of 
two  old  Woodbridge  families,  whose  names  were  identified  with 
the  early  history  of  the  old  town;  a  grandson  of  the  late  General 
Samuel  Edgar,  a  son  of  the  late  Ellis  B.  Edgar. 

Dr.  Samuel  E.  Freeman  has  always  been  recognized  as  a 
man  of  strong  and  positive  ideas,  fearless  and  independent  in  the 
expression  of  his  views,  not  in  sympathy  with  superficialities  of 
society,  but  genial  and  social  in  his  nature.  His  kindly  nature  and 
Christian  principles  as  made  evident  in  his  practice,  for  he  was  as 
faithful  and  untiring  in  his  ministrations  in  the  homes  of  poverty 
where  there  was  no  hope  of  remuneration  as  he  was  in  the  homes 
of  the  wealthy. 

Dr.  Freeman  was  married  early  in  life  to  Miss  Kate  F.  Ran- 
dolph, who  only  lived  a  few  years  to  gladden  his  home.  She  left 
two  little  ones  —  a  son  and  daughter,  now  grown  to  manhood  and 
womanhood  —  Miss  Mabel  Freeman  and  Mr.  Ellis  Freeman.  Four 
sisters  and  one  brother  also  mourn  him  —  Mrs.  John  Anderson  of 
Elizabeth,  Mrs.  J.  H.  T.  Martin,  Miss  Phoebe  Freeman,  Miss  Susie 
Freeman  and  Mr.  Ellis  B.  Freeman  —  all  residents  of  town.    Fu- 


86 


neral  service  was  held  Tuesday  afternoon  from  the  Freeman  home- 
stead ''  on  Rahway  Avenue.  The  Rev.  Or.  McNuUy  olliciated  and 
spoke  very  impressively  from  the  words:  "I  liave  hnished  my 
course."  The  Rev.  \V.  H.  Jackson  oifered  prayer.  Several  appro- 
priate selections  were  beautifully  rendered  f^y  Mr.  Louis  Potter, 
Mrs.  Seth  Lockwood.  acccMTipanist.  The  beautiful  llowers  that 
covered  and  surrounded  the  casket  were  tributes  from  loving  rela- 
tives and  friends. 

The  committal  service  was  private,  attended  only  by  the 
relatives. 

It  is  a  somewhat  remarkable  fact  that  for  more  than  a  cen- 
tury there  has  been  a  Dr.  Freeman  practicing  in  Woodbridge. 

The  death  of  Dr.  Samuel  E.  Freeman,  who  was  the  fifth  doc- 
tor beaming  the  name  Freeman  leaves  Woodbridge,  for  the  first 
time  in  owq  hundred  years  without  a  Doctor  Freeman.  " 

The  sixth  physician  of  the  name  —  Dr.  James  Freeman  — 
recently  left  here  to  practice  in  Jacksonville,  Florida.  '^ 


II 


Fig.  41  Fig.  42 

Harried,  Samuel  P.,  M.D.,  bom  1836,  died  1898. 

Pierson,  John,  M.D.,  bom  1723,  died  1772.  He  was  the  son  of 
Rev.  John  Pierson  who  was  the  minister  of  our  church  from  1714  to 
1754  (Fig.  42).  He  was  also  a  grandson  of  the  President  of  Yale  Col- 
lege, as  it  was  known  in  those  years.    His  mother,  Ruth  Woodbridge 


87 


Pierson,  was  a  granddaughter  of  Rev.  John  Woodbridge,  after  whom 
Wood  bridge  was  named. 

On  Septcmlier  (S,  1756  our  Congregation  obtained  a  Royal  Char- 
ter from  King  George  II  at  the  hands  of  the  then  governor  of  the 
Province,  Governor  Belcher.  It  was  largely  through  the  efTorts  and 
inlluence  of  the  Piersons,  father  and  son,  that  the  Royal  Charter  was 
granted. 

Van  Warner,  A.  B..  M.D.,  born   1846,  died  Feb.  8,  1890. 

Wall,  John  Galen.  M.D..  born  Dec.  17,  1729,  died  Jan.  14,  1798. 

On  his  tombstone  was  found  the  following: 

"In  memory  of  Dr.  John  Galen  Wall,  thirteen  years  Physician  of 

Woodbridge  and  Perth  Amboy.  Born  at  Middlesex,  Monmouth. 

If  Physick's  aid  of  friendship  balm  could  save  from  death,  thou 

shall  had  lived." 

This  monument  is  no  longer  in  existence. 

Wilkinson,  James,  M.D.,  born   1670,  died  Jan.   15,   1749. 


^i(  lion       (y 
^ornici-     I    ii.sior.s     ^ynicrrcii      in      '  Jur     C  cniclcni 


Reverend  A/cl  Roc  was  ordained  and  installed  in  ihe  autmnn  of 
1763  and  labored  in  our  church  initil  his  eleath  in  I  (SI  5.  a  i')eriod  of 
fifty-two  years.  He  was  a  Long  Islander  by  birth.  In  1756,  at  tiie  age 
of  eighteen,  he  was  graduated  from  the  College  of  New  Jersey.  In 
1800  he  received  a  Doctor  of  Divinity  degree  from  Yale.  '" 

Although  he  did  not  serve  as  a  uniformed  soldier  during  the  Revo- 
lutionary War,  he  certainly  ranks  with  (uir  greatest  patriots  of  that  era. 

The  original  monument  that  marked  his  grave  has  K)ng  since 
eroded  so  badly  that  none  of  the  original  engraving  is  legible;  but  from 
a  survey  made  in   l<S49,  the  following  appeared  legible  at  that  time.  " 

"Sacred  to  the  memory  (^f  Re\\l. 
Dr.  Azel  Roe.  Pastor  of  the  First 
Presbyterian  Church  in  Woodbridge, 
who  after  a  life  cheerfully,  faithfully, 
and  affectionately  devoted  to  the 
services  of  Jehovah  Jesus.  Iiis 
Saxiour  and  his  God.  and  t(^  the 
eternal  interests  of  his  flock  fell 
sweetly  to  sleep  in  the  bosom  of 
that  Saxiour  on  the  2nd  day  of  De- 
cember 1  (S  1  5  in  the  77th  year  of  his 
age  and  the  5.^rd  of  his  ministry." 

Lord  now  let  thy  servant  &c         Luke  2:29.  30. 

I  have  fought  a  good  fight  &c  II  Tim'y  4:7.  8." 

Rev.  Roe's  remains  lie  near  those  of  his  first  xxife  Rebecca  Foot 
Roe  who  died  September  1,  1794  and  of  his  second  x\ife.  Hannah 
Bostwick  Roe.  who  died  November  28,   1815. 

Rev.  William  B.  Barton  was  pastor  of  our  church  from  1822  to 
1852.  He  died  at  the  age  of  fifty-nine  on  April  7,  1852.  His  remains 
lie  next  to  those  of  his  son,  Brevet  Brig.  General,  Col.  48th  Reg.  N.  Y. 
State  Vols.;  Commander  2nd  Brigade  2nd  Div.  Army  Corp.,  Army 
of  the  James  in  the  Civil  War  (Fig.  43). 


89 


Rev.   Joseph   M.   McNulty  was  pastor  irom    1874-1906.    On   his 
tombstone  is  engraved; 


VI 


rW- 


Fig.   43  Fig.  44 

"But  in  his  duty,  prompt  at  every  call.  He  watched  and  wept.  He 
Prayed  and  felt  for  all"  (Fig.  44). 

Rev.  Robert  W.  Mark  (Fig.  45)  was  pastor  from  1906  to  1918; 
died  age  seventy-five  on  February  5.  1955.  Under  his  pastorate  the 
church  grew  in  strength  and  number.  He  was  largely  responsible  for 
the  building  of  the  so-called  church  parish  house  to  the  rear  of  our 
former  manse  on  Rahway  Avenue,  which  for  many  years  was  a  center 
for  township  athletic  activities.  This  parish  house  was  razed  during 
the  fall  of  1971. 

Rev.  Earl  Hannum  Devanny  was  born  April  23,  1894  —  died 
April  21,  1962.    He  was  a  veteran  of  World  War  I;  when  World  War 


1       *      ^  ^-'^r^i 

*  .       DEVANNY      i  -- 


Fig.  45  Fig.  46 

90 


11  invoked  tlic  United  States  he  applied  for  and  was  granted  leave 
ol  absence.  He  enlisted  in  the  Armed  Services  and  served  vv'ith  honor 
and  distinction.  At  hostilities  end  he  was  honorably  discharged  with 
the  rank  ol  Lieutenant  Colonel.  During  his  pastorate  in  1955-1^)56 
1  ello\vshi|i  Hall  was  erected  and  completely  paid  l\)r.  On  his  tomb- 
stone is  found  this  engraving: 

"Minister.  Old  White  Church  1933-1959.  Pastor,  Soldier,  Chris- 
tian  Cientleman''   ( F^g.  46). 

The  church  bidletin  board  in  front  of  the  church  was  given  in  his 
memory  by  a  member  of  our  church. 

The  bronze  plate  in  the  brickwork  at  the  bottom  of  the  bulletin 
board  reads,  "In  memoi^  of  Earl  Hannum  Devanny,  Pastor,  October, 
1933-March,    1959." 


91 


Section       / 
L^nifan/iJ     on     tombstones     in      yyiir     L^entetetu 


Gravestone  verses  reflect  the 
feeling  of  the  times, ""  dire  warn- 
ings to  the  Hving;  BibHcal  quota- 
tions and  later  sentimental  render- 
ings extolling  the  virtues  of  the 
person  entombed.  One  of  the  most 
common  verses  in  use  during  colo- 
nial times  was  some  variation  of 
the  familiar,  "As  you  are  now,  so 
once  was  I,"  which  had  appeared 
in  England  as  early  as  1376  on 
the  tomb  of  Edward,  the  Black 
Prince.  '^ 

Edward  was  buried  in  the  east 
end  of  Canterbury  Cathedral  on 
September  29,  1376  where  his 
magnificent  tomb,  erected  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  instructions  in  '*' 
his  will  may  still  be  seen.                                               Fig.  47 

The  epitaph  on  his  tomb  is  identical  with  one  found  in  our  burial 
ground  with  a  date  Aug.  24,   1809  (Fig.  47). 

"Look  and  see  as  you  pass  by 
As  you  are  now  so  once  was  I, 
As  I  am  now  so  you  must  be 
Prepare  for  Death  and  follow  me." 

Many    other   epitaphs    covering    a    diversity  of   moods    are    also 
found  in  our  cemetery. 

April   10,  1758   (Expressing  Hope) 

"The  World's  a  Bubble,  a  mere  show 
But  the  next  World  to  which  we  go, 
Hath  Joys  eternal  and  sincere 
O  May  she  rise  and  enter  there." 


92 


June  29,    ISII    (Ode  to  Ihc  Great   Physician) 
"Affliction  sore  short  time  I   bore 
Physician's  art  was  all  in  vain. 
Till  God   above  did   hear  my  moan, 
And  cured  me  of  my  pain." 

April    1806 

"My  Hying  years  time  urges  on, 
What's  mortal  must  decay. 
My  friend,  my  dear  companion  gone 
Nor  came  I  long  expect  to  stay." 

1907 

"Rest  in  peace,  thou  gentle  spirit 
Throned  above. 
Souls  like  thine  with  God  inherit 
Life  and  Love. 

1806 

"Sleep  lovely  child  and  take  thy  rest 
Both  young  and  old  must  die, 
God  called   thee  home.   He  thought  it  best 
To  sing  his  praise  on  high" 

1889 

"Their  minds  in  death,  were  calm,  serene, 
No  terror  in  their  looks  were  seen 
A  savior's  smile  dispelled  their  gloom, 

And  smoothed  the  passage  to  the  tomb." 

1808 

"Father,  I  give  my  spirit  up 
And  trust  it  in  thy  hand. 
My  dying  flesh  shall  rest  in  hope, 
And  rise  at  thy  command." 

1782 

"As  bright  Sol  the  equator  Past, 
Death  cut  her  down  as  with  a  blast 
And  in  Death's  fetters  must  lie  bound 
Till  raised  by  the  last  Trumpet  Sound." 


93 


1758 

"My  heart  dissolves  with  Pangs  unknown 
In  Groans  I  waste  my  Breath 
Thy  heavy  hand  has  brought  me  down 

Low  as  the  dust  of  death 
Father,  I  give  my  spirit  up 
And  trust  it  in  thy  hand. 
My  dying  flesh  shall  rest  in  hope 
And  rise  at  thy  command." 

1786 

"Sweet  sacred  Dust,  sleep  in  the  Tomb 

While  here  the  World  was  not  her   home 
Now  she's  removed  to  Realms  above 

To  endless  bliss  and  boundless  Love." 
Ye  glittering  toys  of  earth  adieu 

A  nobler  choice  be  mine 
A  real  prize  attracts  my  view 

A  treasure  all  divine." 

1761 

"Our  days  begin  with  troubles  here 
Our  life  is  but  a  span 
And  cruel  death  is  always  near 
So  frail  a  thing  is  man." 

1756 

"Thus  falls  ye  generous  and  the  brave 
A  captive  Prisoner  to  the  grave 
And  till  the  last  trumpets  awful  sound 
Shall  thru  the  rending  tombs  resound 
Then  may  our  moulding  dust  arise 
Ascend  and  reign  above  the  skies." 

1808 

"Death  like  an  overtlowing  stream 
Sweeps  away  our  life,  a  dream 
An  empty  talc,  a  mourning  ilower 
Cut  down  and  withered  in  an  hour." 


94 


1809 

"My  loving  friends,  I   bid  all  farewell 

Prepare  yourselves  with  God  to  dwell 
In  a  few  more  days  it  will  be  said 

That  you  are  numbered  with  the  dead." 

1832  (child  2  months  old) 

"Ere  sin  could  blight  or  sorrow  fade 
Death  came  with  friendly  care 
The  opening  bud  to  heaven  conveyed 
And  bade  it  blossom  there." 

1833  (child   1   month,  23  days  old) 

"This  lovely  bud,  so  young,  so  fair 
Called  hence  by  early  doom 
Just  came  to  show  how  sweet  a  flower, 
In  paradise  would  bloom." 

1871 

"See  the  leaves  around  ye  falling 
Dry  and  withered  to  the  ground, 
Thus  to  thoughtless  mortals  calling 
With  a  sure  and  solemn  sound." 

1907 

"There  is  a  blessed  home 
Beyond  this  land  of  ours 
Where  trials  never  come 
No  tears  of  sorrow  flow." 

The  spelling  in  the  preceding  Epitaphs  is  exactly  as  it  appears 
on  the  tombstone. 


95 


Section       o 
1 1 ^i^cellaneou^     (comments 


In  making  a  study  of  the  various  facets  of  our  burial  ground, 
attention  is  attracted  to  names,  both  surnames  and  Christian  names. 

Some  surnames  or  family  names  found  in  our  burial  ground  are 
rarely  heard  at  all  in  our  Township  today,  viz:  Ashbill,  Appleyard, 
Pain,  Ryno,  Mabic,  Bunn,  Clinch,  Nightingale,  Playfoot,  Callander, 
Dezendorf. 

It  is  true  also  of  Christian  names,  which  seem  to  follow  a  pat- 
tern. In  the  early  days  of  our  church  Biblical  names  intluenced  par- 
ticularly male  names. 

How  often  today  is  a  male  child  called  Jothan,  Gideon,  Jabez, 
Ephraim,  Ichabod,  Phineas,  Abraham,  Eliphilet,  Cyrus,  Rufus,  Isaac, 
Seth,  Moses,  Joshua,  Azel,  Adam,  Jeremiah,  Everts,  Enoch,  Zebulon, 
Socrates,  Sebastian,  Titus,  or  Marmaduke? 

Female  names  seemed  to  have  a  quaintness  all  their  own,  seem- 
ingly associated  with  the  early  times.  Names  such  as  the  following 
seem  today  to  be  passe  —  Jobatha,  Prudence,  Letitia,  Indiana,  Mal- 
vina,  Sabra,  Ursula,  Phebe,  Jannet,  Ellie,  Experience,  Ezebel,  Ginnet, 
Jaenke,  Mercy,  Gettie,  Tabitha,  Charity,  Euphemia,  Abigail,  Sabina, 
Elizer,  Huldah,  Deliverance,  Sisfal,   Katurah,   Mahalia. 

Names,  like  styles  in  garments,  change  with  the  time. 

Someone  has  said  that  gravestones  with  their  inscriptions  and 
imagery  possess  an  eloquence  rarely  matched  in  literature.  The  monu- 
ments speak  directly  to  all  who  face  them,  echoing  of  the  past.  On 
their  sometimes  crumbling  surfaces  one  can  trace  the  lives  and  experi- 
ence of  past  generations,  its  wars,  its  epidemics,  the  opulence  of  cer- 
tain  families. 

The  cemetery  records  reveal  that  the  then  dreaded  smallpox  dis- 
ease caused  mortality  back  in  1709.  Samuel  Hale,  Esq.,  one  of  the 
original  Freeholders,  who  was  granted  in  1670  a  plot  of  167  acres, 
was  one  of  the  victims.  This  dreaded  disease  also  struck  in  January 
1732  '^  and  in  the  winter  and  spring  of   1774-1775. 

96 


During  the  early  1890s  a  diptheria  epidemic  was  experienceu  in 
the  town. 

The  influenza  epidemic  in  1917-1919  struck  with  disasterous  re- 
sults. Hospitals  in  this  area  were  so  overcrowded  that  our  Parish  House 
building  on  Rahway  Avenue  was  turned  into  a  nursing  center. 

One  of  the  most  distressing  facts  read  on  the  monuments  is  re- 
vealed in  the  number  of  infant  and  childhood  deaths. 

In  one  family  plot  there  are  seven  interments  of  children,  six 
sons  and  one  daughter,  all  who  died  in  infancy. 

In  still  another  plot,  "  J,  born  1900,  died  in  1900;  W,  born  1902, 
died  1902;  E,  born  1890,  died  1893;  F,  born  1887,  died  1890;  J, 
born  1870,  died  1873;  A,  born  1863.  died  1864;  Ta,  born  1871,  died 
1872;  KT,   1889-1890;  L.   1901-1904. 

Graves  of  over  forty  children  who  died  before  reaching  six  months 
of  age  can  be  counted;  thirty  others  before  their  first  birthday;  fifteen 
before  age  two,  and  about  fifty  others  between  ages  three  and  ten. 

In  a  number  of  instances  two  children  of  the  same  family  passed 
away  the  same  day. 

Such  happenings  are  unheard  of  today.  What  was  the  cause  back 
then?  Diptheria,  Scarlet  Fever,  the  so-called  "Summer  complaint," 
who  knows? 

The  question  is  raised  repeatedly  as  to  whether  or  not  there  re- 
mains space  for  additional  burials  in  our  cemetery.  The  answer  is 
"Yes!"  There  is  still  space  for  an  additional  three  to  four  hundred 
new  plots  and  room  for  many  additional  interments  in  plots  already 
assigned  to  families  in  past  years. 

In  going  through  the  old  cemetery  records  one  will  come  across 
items  of  a  tragic  nature,  viz: 

"Henry  Clay  Smith,  son  of  Edgar  R.  and  Phebe  Smith,  lost  his 
life  at  Rahway,  January  22,  1833  in  his  efi'orts  to  rescue  his  playmate 
from  a  watery  grave.    Henry  was  in  his  fourteenth  year."' 

Another  example: 

"Timothy  Bloomtield,  son  of  Timothy  and  Sussanah  Bloomfield, 
lost  at  sea  by  falling  overboard  from  his  ship,  "America"  on  a  passage 
from  New  York  City  to  Batavia,  Indonesia,  in  the  Pacific  Ocean  on 
the  21  of  July  1819;  age  eighteen  years,  one  month,  four  days." 


97 


In  the  first  paragraph  of  this  chapter  we  termed  our  Burial  Ground 
as  "consecrated  and  hallowed."  We  would  also  hope  that  the  reading 
of  this  discourse  would  engender  a  greater  appreciation  of  our  ceme- 
tery as  a  truly  historical  site  knitting  our  church  to  the  life  and  work 
of  our  Community,  State,  and  Nation.  It  has  often  been  said  that  the 
history  of  America  is  here. 

Fig.  48  shows  the  author 
gathering  data  from  one  of  the  old 
red   sandstone  monuments. 

The  author  gives  deserved 
thanks  to  Mr.  Clyde  Williams  for 
the  generous  amount  of  time  given 
by  him  in  taking  the  many  photo- 
graphs and  for  his  recording  the 
many  epitaphs  shown  herein.  Also, 
thanks  to  a  quartet  of  our  teen- 
agers, Charles  and  Mat  Barany, 
Dan  Natalc,  and  Bill  Gardner  who 
saved  the  author  many  steps  in 
sathcrins  data. 


John   M.   Kreger,  Author 


Fig.  48 


98 


KEY: 

■■I  Road 
Footpath 


99 


FOOTNOTES  AND  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

1.  Monnette,  Orra  Eugene,    Ye  Plantation   of  Piscataway  and   Woodhridge. 

2.  Ludwig,  Allan  I..  Graven  Images — New  England  Stone  Carvings  and  Its  Sxmhols. 
3-10.   Ludwig,  Allan  I.,  op.  cit. 

11.  American   Heritage   Magazine,  "Graven   Images,   Sermons    in   Stone" — Aug.    1970. 

12.  Graustad,  Edwin  S.,  A   Religious  History  of  America. 

13.  Graustad,  op.  cit. 

SECTION   II 

1.  Wolk,  Ruth,   The  History  of  Woodhridge.  N.  J..    1970   Edition. 

2,  3.  Monnette,  op.  cit. 

4.  Savage,  General  Dictionary  of  New  England. 

5.  Wells,  Albert,  American  Family  Antiquity.  Society  Library,  New  York  City,    1880. 

6.  Bryant,  Blanch  B.  and  Baker,  Gertrude  E.,  Compilers,  Gcneological  Records  of 
the  Founders'  and  Early  Settlers  of  Plymouth,  Vermont. 

7.  Monnette,  op.  cit. 

8.  The  late  Mr.  Leon  McElroy,  attorney  and  historian  of  Woodbridge,  was  one  of 
a  group  who  claimed  that  the  town  of  "Woodbridge"  was  not  named  in  honor 
of  Reverend  John  Woodbridge  of  Newbury,  Massachusetts.  Mr.  McElroy  stated 
that  there  was  no  record  that  Rev.  John  Woodbridge  had  ever  visited  Wood- 
bridge,  New  Jersey.  He  claimed  that  Woodbridge  was  named  after  a  town  in 
England.  The  writer  takes  no  sides  in  this  issue.  It  is,  however,  purely  coinci- 
dental that  Thomas  Bioomfield.  who  came  to  Woodbridge  as  early  as  1665  and 
who  was  one  of  the  most  influential  of  the  first  settlers,  came  from  Woodbridge, 
England. 

9.  Monnette,  i>p.  cit. 
10-11.   Monnette,  op.  cit. 

12.  Annals  of  Yarmouth,   Mass. 
13-16.    Monnette,  op.  cit. 

17.  New  Jersey  Historical  Society  Third  Series  VL 

18.  Ludwig,  F.   D.,  Timely  Told  Talcs  of   Woodbridge   Township. 

19.  Savage,  ^>p.  cit. 

20.  Monnette,  op.  cit. 

21.  Potter,  Frank  D.,  a  descendant. 

22.  Whitehead,  William  A.,    1856. 

SECTIONS  IV,  V,  VI,  VIL  VIII 

1.  Evening  News,    Perth   Amboy,    N.    J.,    June    30,    1964. 

2.  Parker,  Captain  James,  History  of  the  Parker  and  Kearnev  Families  of  Perth 
Amboy.  1896. 

3.  From  Correspondence   with  Mr.   Barbour   Rolph   of  West   Union,   Ohio. 

4.  Breckenridge,   Amy   E.,  Disappearing  Landmarks  of    Woodbridge. 

5.  This  home  is  presently  123  Prospect  St.  The  writer  and  his  family  resided  in  this 
home  from  December  1930  to  October  1957.  This  home  since  1957  has  been 
the   manse  for  the   Woodbridge   Gospel   Church. 

6.  Dr.  Samuel  Freeman  also  operated  a  drug  store  and  was  also  at  one  time  the 
town  postmaster. 

7.  The  so-called  Freeman  Homestead  was  the  Thayer  Martin  home  on  Rahway 
Avenue  since  razed  to  make  room  for  the  apartment  complex,  corner  Freeman 
Street   and    Rahway   Avenue. 

8.  Research  revealed  a  Dr.  Matthew  Freeman  and  the  date   1808  but  no  other  details. 

9.  Wade,  John  P.,  and  Pirkersgill,  Harold  E.,  History  of  Middlesex  County. 

10.  Weber,   Thomas,    "The  Heritage   of    the    First    Presbvterian    Church    of  Metuchen, 
1967. 

11.  Whitehead,  William  A.,  assisted  by   his  son,  William,  Monumental  Inscriptions  of 
Dates  Prior  to   1800,  translated  for  the   N.   J.   Historical  Society,    1849. 

12.  Neal,  Avon,  American  Heritage.    1970. 

13.  New   York  Gazette,   Jan.    18,    1732. 

14.  Monnette,  op.  cit. 


100 


The  women  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Woodbridge, 
which  is  affectionately  known  as  'The  Old  White  Church,"  first  or- 
ganized in  1856  under  various  names  and  for  various  projects. 

At  the  present  time  the  women  of  this  church  have  the  privilege 
of  deciding  in  which  of  three  organizations  they  will  be  most  useful 
to  the  Lord  in  His  work.  Just  as  there  were  Martha  and  Mary  long 
ago,  each  with  her  own  particular  talent,  so  in  our  church  there  are 
many  Marthas  and  Marys  who  are  fortunate  in  being  able  to  choose 
the  organization  in  which  they  can  best  use  their  particular  talents. 
There  are  a  few  women  who  have  chosen  to  work  in  two  organizations, 
but  most  concentrate  their  efforts  by  working  in  just  one. 

A  short  description  of  the  goals  and  accomplishments  of  these 
three  groups  will  be  found  on  the  following  pages. 


l/Uliite      L^hurch      L^iiild 


In  May  of  1946,  eighteen  of  the  young  women  of  the  church 
organized  the  White  Church  Guild  with  the  goals  of  working  for  the 
Old  White  Church  and  of  helping  the  minister.  Because  this  group 
was  comprised  of  young  mothers  and  career  women,  the  meetings  were 
held  in  the  evenings  semi-monthly. 

The  first  officers  were  President,  Mrs.  Andrew  Lockie;  Vice- 
president,  Mrs.  Russell  Demarest;  Secretary,  Mrs.  Oakley  Blair,  and 
Treasurer,  Miss  Loma  MacCrory.  In  1948  when  Miss  MacCrory 
married  and  left  the  United  States  to  be  with  her  husband  who  was 
in  foreign  service,  Mrs.  Wesley  Heiselberg  became  treasurer,  a  position 
which  she  has  filled  ever  since  with  painstaking  care  and  devotion. 
Mrs.  Earl  H.  Devanny,  our  pastor's  wife,  accepted  the  position  of 
Counselor,  a  post  which  she  had  held  in  the  Lillian  Buschman  Guild, 
to  which  a  majority  of  the  members  of  the  newly  organized  group  had 
belonged  prior  to  1942.    For  a  short  time  meetings  were  held  at  the 

101 


home  of  Mrs.  William  Gardner,  the  Assistant  Counselor.  However, 
due  to  her  failing  health,  she  was  forced  to  relinquish  her  active  part 
in  the  organization.  After  this  the  Guild  meetings  were  held,  at  Mrs. 
Devanny's  invitation,  at  the  manse,  until  Fellowship  Hall  was  avail- 
able in   1956. 

Mrs.  Devanny's  indominitable  spirit,  combined  with  her  love  for 
the  church,  proved  an  inspiration  to  many  of  the  Guild  members  and 
helped  to  strengthen  their  two-fold  purpose  for  being  part  of  this  or- 
ganization. Mrs.  Devanny  had  two  maxims  by  which  she  and  the 
Guild  were  governed:  the  first.  "Nothing  for  the  Lord  Is  Impossible," 
and  the  second,  "A  Guild  Girl  Never  Says,  'No!' "  If  one  were  in  doubt 
about  her  ability  to  accomplish  what  seemed  to  her  an  impossible  task, 
she  thought  of  Mrs.  Devanny's  maxims  and  accomplished  it!  This 
gallant  and  beloved  lady  was  Counselor  of  the  Guild  until  1959  when 
Mr.  Devanny  and  she  retired  to  their  farm  at  Cream  Ridge,  N.  J. 
Upon  Mrs.  Devanny's  retirement  Mrs.  Andrew  S.  Lockie  Sr.  became 
Adviser  to  the  Guild. 

The  general  program  for  the  year  is  the  responsibility  of  the  Pro- 
gram Chairman  and  her  committee.  These  women  plan  the  year's 
activities  and  present  a  year  book  which  contains  the  program,  names 
of  hostesses  and  devotional  leaders,  members'  names  and  addresses 
and  duties  of  each  member.  The  Vice-president  is  also  Ways  and 
Means  Chairman.  Her  duty  and  that  of  her  committee  is  to  present 
ideas  which,  when  put  into  action,  will  increase  the  amount  in  the 
Guild  treasury,  thus  enabling  the  Guild  to  be  of  greater  service  to  the 
church.  Since  1956  one  of  the  highlights  of  the  Guild  year  has  been 
the  Spring  Auction  and  Cake  Sale.  The  distribution  of  "Talent  Dollars" 
every  few  years  causes  temporary  dismay  among  the  members  but 
usually  results  in  a  sizable  increase  in  the  Guild  coffers  when  the  mem- 
bers return  their  dollars  generally  increased  many  fold  by  using  their 
"Talents."  These  talents  have  varied  from  having  clam  chowder  sales 
to  making  book  marks. 

The  activities  for  the  year  vary,  but  each  year  one  evening  is  set 
aside  to  work  on  table  favors  or  gifts  of  some  kind  for  the  residents 
of  our  Synod  Homes.  Each  Christmas  the  Guild  gives  a  cash  gift  to 
each  of  the  four  people  whom  our  church  sponsors  in  the  Synod  Homes. 
The  Woman's  Auxiliary  of  Synod  Homes  also  receives  a  contribution 
toward  their  projects  for  the  Homes.  In  1 974  in  addition  to  the  usual 
gifts  the  Guild  gave  a  subscription  to  "Guide  Posts,"  the  publication 
sponsored  by  Rev.  Norman  Vincent  Peale.  This  edition  is  one  in  large 
print,  a  special  boon  to  those  with  failing  sight  at  Madison  House  and 
at  the  Haddonfield  Home. 


102 


The  responsibility  of  the  Church  Nursery  is  one  of  the  tasks  as- 
sumed by  the  Cluild.  The  Nursery  Cliairnian  compiles  the  schedule 
of  nursery  attendants  lor  the  year  and  each  week  reminds  the  person 
whose  turn  it  is  to  ser\c  in  the  nursery,  nf  her  duty.  If  the  scheduled 
person  cannot  sei\e  and  a  substitute  is  not  available,  the  Chairman 
finds  herself  in  charge  of  the  nursery.  The  Guild,  in  conjunction  with 
the  Ladies'  Aid.  has  acce|ited  the  responsibility  for  having  fresh  llowers 
in  church  every  Sunday.  Mrs.  Joseph  Husk  has  served  most  faithfully 
as  Flower  Chairman  since  1965.  Several  members  of  the  Guild  also 
help  the  church  secretary  with  special  mailings  and  each  month  prepare 
the  "Spire"  for  mailing. 

The  funds  spent  on  material  for  the  necessities  and  beautification 
of  church  property  have  varied  through  the  years  starting  in  1947  with 
a  purchase  of  Christmas  tree  lights  for  SIS. 30.  repairing  the  church 
chandelier  in  1972  at  a  cost  of  SI  26 1.00.  and  climaxing  in  1973  v\'ith 
the  paving  of  the  church  parking  lot  at  a  cost  of  S7()2().00.  Whether 
it  was  $503.50  for  the  electric  typewriter  for  the  church  ofhce,  $10.00 
for  nursery  supplies.  $462.00  for  pulpit  chairs  or  $13.85  for  kitchen 
curtain  material  for  Fellowship  Hall,  the  money  for  these  items  was 
raised  with  zeal  and  given  with  love.  Vrom  the  time  of  its  organization 
until  early  in  1974  the  Guild  has  been  privileged  to  spend  more  than 
$13,000.00  on  necessities  and  beautification  of  church  pr(-)perties  and 
to  give  as  donations  tc^  the  church  for  current  expenses  and  pledges 
over  $14,000.00.  Of  the  latter  hgure.  $4,223.97  was  specifically  ear- 
marked for  the  Renovation  and  Restoration  Fund. 

All  of  this  has  been  made  possible,  not  because  of  one  person  or 
of  one  committee,  but  through  the  e'Torts  of  a  group  of  dedicated 
women,  working  cheerfully  together,  guided  by  the  maxims  which  the 
early  members  had  thoroughly  imprinted  on  their  minds  and  hearts — 
"Nothing  for  the  Lord  Ls  Impossible,"  and  "A  Guild  Girl  Never  says, 
'No'!" 


rJLcidleS     ^yrici 


In  1946  the  only  woman's  organization  in  our  church  was  the 
United  Presbyterian  Women,  a  naticMial  organization  whose  primary 
concern  was  missionary  wcirk.  At  that  time  many  women  felt  the 
need  for  a  second  woman's  organization  whose  primary  purpose  would 
be  to  provide  financial  help  to  the  local  church  and  to  aid  the  pastor 
in  his  duties.  The  end  of  World  War  II  brought  the  return  of  Reverend 
and  Mrs.  Earl  Devanny.  With  the  return  of  Mrs.  Devanny,  a  group 
of  about  forty  women  called  together  by   Mrs.  Whitney  Leeson   and 

103 


Mrs.  Devanny,  met  to  discuss  means  to  fill  this  need.    As  a  result  of 
this  meeting  held  in  May  1946,  the  Ladies  Aid  Society  was  bom. 

The  first  officers  elected  were:  President,  Mrs.  John  Kreger,  who 
served  for  ten  years;  Vice-president,  Mrs.  Albert  Bowers,  Sr.;  Secre- 
tary, Miss  Louise  Brewster;  Treasurer,  Mrs.  George  Fullerton,  who 
was  their  beloved  treasurer.  Key  Woman  to  the  Belvidere  Home  and 
Sunshine  Chairman  from  this  time,  1946,  until  her  death  in  1963. 

The  first  project  was  to  raise  $1000  in  four  years  for  the  275th 
Anniversary  Celebration  of  the  church  in  1950.  Since  that  time,  the 
Ladies'  Aid  has  raised  money  for  kitchen  needs  including  a  new  re- 
frigerator, cooking  utensils,  table  silver  and  other  articles. 

Two  beautiful  silver  services  and  two  fine  lace  tablecloths  were 
purchased.  These  are  at  the  disposal  of  any  group  wishing  to  use  them. 
The  tray  of  one  is  engraved  to  honor  the  memory  of  our  deceased 
members,  and  the  other  to  honor  Mrs.  Devanny,  who  worked  so  tire- 
lessly for  the  Society. 

Several  hundred  dollars  are  given  to  the  trustees  each  year,  and 
special  funds  are  raised  for  such  needs  as  church  carpeting,  choir 
gowns,  lights,  etc. 

The  meetings  average  about  twenty-five  members  and  are  held 
twice  a  month.  At  first  meetings  were  held  in  the  homes  of  the  mem- 
bers, but  after  the  completion  of  Fellowship  Hall  in  1956  the  group 
has  met  there.  Each  of  the  three  women's  groups  shared  in  the  expense 
of  furnishings  the  "Ladies  Lounge  or  Parlor,"  contributing  $800  each. 

Funds  are  raised  each  year  by  an  Annual  Fall  Bazaar,  by  rum- 
mage sales    and  by  projects  at  regular  meetings. 

The  presidents  following  Mrs.  Kreger  were:  Mrs.  Edwin  Earley, 
Mrs.  William  Bowen,  Mrs.  Fred  Baldwin,  Mrs.  John  Jelicks,  Mrs. 
Andrew  Simonsen,  Mrs.  Albert  Bergen  and  Mrs.  Hans  Stockel. 

A  fine  celebration  of  our  25th  Anniversary  was  held  in  May  1971 
with  a  luncheon  served  and  donated  by  the  White  Church  Guild. 

Our  pastor.  Reverend  Lewis  Bender,  visits  us  often  with  words  of 
praise  for  our  works  and  prays  for  our  continued  success  and  co-opera- 
tion with  the  church. 

The  Ladies'  Aid  have  made  the  following  gifts  to  the  church: 
Silver  services,  refrigerator,  shrubbery,  275th  Anniversary  Fund,  choir 
gowns,  carpet  for  the  church,  furniture  for  the  parlor,  dishes,  carpet 
sweeper.  Communion  table  and  pulpit,  tablecloths,  money  gifts  and 
donations  to  the  trustees  amounting  to  $11,264  and  total  gifts  of  about 
$20,000. 

104 


We  have  an  active  Sunshine  Chairman,  Mrs.  Edwin  Potter,  who 
sends  out  cards,  flowers,  and  money  gifts  to  the  sick  and  bereaved  as 
well  as  to  the  four  people  sponsored  by  our  church  at  Synod  Homes. 

A  Hostess  Chairman  and  a  Devotional  Chairman  see  to  it  that 
each  meeting  is  well  planned.  We  share  with  the  Guild  the  expense 
of  pulpit  flowers. 

An  Entertainment  Chairman  plans  games,  quizes,  etc.  for  several 
meetings  a  year.  We  open  and  close  the  year  with  a  Covered  Dish 
Luncheon. 

We  all  enjoy  the  work  and  the  fellowship  and  pray  that  this  or- 
ganization will  continue  for  many  years. 


1/1  nl  ted    l~^^resbuterlan       l/L/c 


omen 

Upon  the  recommendation  of  the  Elizabeth  Presbyterial,  the 
"Guild  Circle  System"  was  presented  to  the  Women's  Auxiliary  at  a 
meeting  held  March  19,  1943.  After  two  organizational  meetings,  the 
Session  called  all  the  women  of  the  church  to  a  meeting  on  April  16, 
when  a  constitution  and  a  budget  were  presented  and  accepted.  The 
name  "Women's  Association  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Wood- 
bridge"  was  chosen. 

At  this  time,  the  movement  toward  having  one  women's  organi- 
zation in  a  church  instead  of  several,  was  being  launched  throughout 
the  United  States  by  the  Presbyterian  Church.  The  theory  of  the  sys- 
tem was  that  each  woman  in  a  church  would  belong  to  the  organiza- 
tion and  all  would  work  together  to  accomplish  that  which  they  had 
been  aiming  toward  separately.  The  organization  would  be  divided 
into  circles,  to  nurture  fellowship  and  give  more  opportunity  to  express 
individual  needs.  Circles  would  meet  once  a  month,  usually  at  the 
home  of  a  member,  and  the  entire  membership  would  meet  together 
once  monthly  at  the  church  to  conduct  business  and  take  part  in  special 
programs. 

In  order  to  keep  each  circle  from  becoming  a  club  unto  itself, 
names  of  all  members  were  to  be  put  in  a  bowl  and  redrawn  each 
year  for  circle  membership.  The  only  division  made,  was  membership 
for  afternoon  and  evening  groups.    This  is  still  the  practice  of  UPW. 

The  formation  of  such  an  organization  in  our  church  was  not 
done  without  sacrifices.  The  Lillian  Buschman  Guild,  organized  in 
March  1929,  and  the  Women's  Auxiliary  which  had  received  its  new 

105 


name  that  same  year,  disbanded.  The  Amy  Breckenridge  Chapter  of 
Westminster  Guild,  organized  in  1920,  continued  to  meet  for  quite 
some  time,  until,  due  to  a  changing  world,  they  ceased  to  meet. 

On  May  7,  1943,  in  the  sanctuary,  the  interim  pastor,  the  Rev. 
Kenneth  M.  Kepler,  installed  the  following  slate: 

President Mrs.  Kenneth  Kepler 

1st  Vice  President Mrs.  Edward  H.  Kinsey 

2nd  Vice  President   Mrs.  George  Battman 

3rd  Vice  President    Mrs.  Edwin  Plueddemann 

Recording  Secretary Mrs.  Grace  Von  Bremen 

Corresponding  Secretary Mrs.  Eugene  Burns 

Treasurer Mrs.  Emerson  White 

Historian Miss  Louise  Brewster 

Twelve  circles  were  formed  with  the  t\)llowing  chairmen: 
1 — Mrs.  John  M.  Kreger  7 — Mrs.  Whitney  C.  Leeson 

2 — Mrs.  James  Reid  8 — Mrs.   Kenneth    Manning 

3— Mrs.  M.  H.  Keneston  9— Mrs.  Fred  G.  Baldwin 

4— Mrs.   Chfford  Blair  10— Miss  Kathryn  Holland 

5 — Mrs.  Bertha  Brewer  1  1 — Miss  Bess  Donnelly 

6 — Mrs.  Edwin  F.  Earley  12 — Mrs.   F.   Ward   Brown 

Projects  undertaken  in  the  first  year  included  redecorating  the 
church  basement  (then  the  Primary  Department).  This  cost  $50  for 
paint,  brushes  and  curtains.  Labor  was  volunteered.  The  pastor's 
stody  was  relurbished  for  $40,  under  the  same  conditions.  Blackout 
shades  were  purchased  for  the  church  basement;  it  was,  after  all,  1943, 
and  a  service  flag  with  a  star  for  each  son  of  the  church  in  the  armed 
forces  was  purchased  and  hung  in  the  sanctuary. 

Other  activities  carried  out  during  the  early  years  included:  in- 
auguration of  a  nursery  during  church  services,  care  of  the  kitchen 
(its  list  of  problems  are  the  same  as  today's);  installation  of  a  ladies' 
room  in  the  Parish  House,  installation  of  a  downstairs  lavatory  in  the 
manse,  and  organization  of  a  flower  committee  for  the  church.  Because 
of  the  faithfulness  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  George  Rowe  who  placed  flowers 
from  their  garden  on  the  altar  of  the  church  each  Sunday  for  so  many 
years,  this  committee's  work  covered  only  a  few  winter  Sundays. 

Sewing  for  mission  stations  from  Arizona  to  Africa  and  points 
beyond  was  a  giant  task  cheerfully  assumed.  Dozens  of  garments  were 
made  annually  for  many  years  until  the  economy  changed  in  the  coun- 
tries where  the  stations  were  located.    It  then  became  more  charitable 


106 


to  send  money  which  could  be  used  to  pay  native  workers  to  make  the 
needed  articles.  Tiiis  served  a  two-fold  purpose  of  supplying  the  hos- 
pitals, schools,  etc.,  with  many  articles  and  providing  the  workers  with 
the  self-esteem  of  earning  a  living.  During  World  War  II,  it  is  also 
noted,  the  women  knitted  hundreds  of  articles  for  the  American  Red 
Cross. 

During  the  post-war  years,  well  into  the  l^SO's,  the  activities  of 
the  Association  were  shaped  l^y  the  times.  Boxes  of  clothing  without 
number  were  collected  and  delivered  to  the  Newcomer's  Christian  Fel- 
lowship in  New  York  City  where  the  Rev.  and  Mrs.  Frederick  Forrell 
clothed  a  great  flow  of  refugees.  Many  of  these  came  from  refugee 
camps  with  few,  if  any,  posessions  to  start  a  new  life. 

At  this  time  also,  some  circles  adopted  families  whose  life  in 
impoverished  Europe  was  desperate.  Boxes  of  food,  clothing  and  neces- 
cesities,  impossible  to  purchase  even  if  one  had  the  price,  were  sent 
regularly.  Touched  by  the  stories  of  German  Christians  behind  the 
Iron  Curtain  whose  faithfulness  to  God  kept  them  in  miserable  poverty, 
as  well  as  physical  danger,  the  women  responded  with  more  gifts  and 
CARE  packages  for  several  years. 

In  the  United  States,  partial  support  of  the  Rev.  and  Mrs.  William 
Isette,  missionaries  to  the  Papago  Indians  in  Arizona,  was  part  of  the 
UPW  budget  over  a  long  period  of  time.  Under  the  auspices  of  the 
Association,  "Papago  Christmas"  was  held  each  year  at  which  time  the 
Sunday  School  children  donated  gifts  and  candy  for  their  counterparts 
'on  the  Papago  Reservation  at  Sells. 

By  1946  upon  the  conclusion  of  WW  II  and  the  return  of  Rev. 
and  Mrs.  Earl  H.  Devanny,  as  the  aspect  of  women's  organizations  in 
our  church  changed  and  the  Ladies'  Aid  and  White  Cliurch  Guild  were 
organized,  they  assumed  many  of  the  local  activities  which  formerly 
came  under  the  Association's  committee  structure.  The  "Second  Mile 
Giving"  of  Presbyterian  women  which  is  still  vitally  necessary  to  the 
support  of  many  mission  activities  at  home  and  abroad  continues  to 
receive  loyal  backing  from  the  Association's  free  will  offerings. 

Woman's  changing  role  in  our  society  has  been  retlected  in  the 
UPW  programs.  There  are  modificatitws,  but  the  basic  features  of  the 
following  activities  have  not  changed  through  the  years: 

Circle  friends  —  Each  circle  adopts  two  or  three  shut-ins  each 
year  and  remembers  them  throughout  the  year  with  cards,  gifts  and 
visits  to  let  them  know  someone  cares. 

Christmas  boxes — Besides  remembering  the  guests  at  the  Pres- 
byterian Homes,   November  hnds  UPW  members  donating  gifts  for  a 

1 07 


jireviously  selected   recipient,  sometimes  far  away,   but  with   the  costs 
of  postage  rising,  it  is  more  often  some  group  near  at  hand. 

Bible  Study — Probably  the  heart  of  the  UPW  program  is  the 
Bible  study  conducted  at  circle  meetings.  With  few  exceptions,  the 
members  take  turns  in  leading  the  study  —  not  without  fear  and  trem- 
bling. There  is  a  hymn  which  goes,  "Thy  Word  is  like  a  deep,  deep 
mine,  with  jewels  rich  and  rare  .  .  ."  Many  a  jewel  has  been  unearthed 
as  circle  members  seek  together  for  the  riches  of  the  Word. 

The  oHiciai  purpose  of  the  UPW  reads: 

Seeking  to  be  obedient  to  God's  call  in  Jesus  Christ, 

we  unite: 
To  support  the  missic>n  of  the  United   Presbyterian  Church 

in  the  U.S.A. 
To  help  one  another  grow  in  Christian  faith  and 

understanding,  and 
To  act  in  Christian  concern  in  the  company  of  God's 

people  everywhere. 

Hoping  to  abide  by  this  goal  in  the  future,  we  look  forward  to 
where  the  Lord  will  lead  us.  Our  group  embraces  women  of  all  ages 
which  span  more  than  60  years.  Each  age  has  its  own  special  con- 
tribution as  we  remember  the  motto  chosen  for  the  group  in  1943: 
"Seek  ye  hrst  the  Kingdom  of  God." 


^unclaii      (church     School 

Tn  an  historic  pageant  written  for  the  25()th  anniversary  of  our 
church  Mrs.  L.  V.  Buschman  writes  that  the  men  and  women  of  our 
early  church,  "were  people  of  great  faith  and  vision.  Religion  to  them 
was  no  mere  incident  but  a  vital  part  of  their  lives."  They  devoted 
almost  the  entire  day  of  Sunday  to  the  worship  of  the  Lord  and  they 
toi^k  their  children  with  them.  So  far  the  first  143  years  of  our  church's 
history  there  was  no  Sunday  School.  The  children  worshipped  with 
the  adults  and  learned  their  Bible  lessons  at  home.  Apparently  some 
parents  were  not  doing  their  job  and  the  children's  religious  edu- 
cation was  being  neglected.  During  the  pastorate  of  Dr.  Henry  Mills, 
a  group  of  women  petitioned  the  elders  for  permission  to  "gather  the 
dear  children  of  the  community  together  and  teach  them  the  great 
truths  of  the  Holy  Word."  On  the  third  Sunday  of  June  in  the  year 
of  Our  Lord,   1818,  the  first  Sunday  School  classes  were  held. 

108 


Most  of  the  work  of  establishing  tiie  first  Sabbath  School  was 
done  by  Sally  Potter,  Jane  Patton  and  Mrs.  Harriet  Potter.  Classes 
were  held  on  Sunday  afternoon  and  consisted  mostly  of  singing  hymns, 
hearing  Bible  stories,  and  memorizing  Bible  verses.  The  Church  rec- 
ords for  the  early  years  of  Sabbath  School  no  longer  exist  but  appar- 
ently the  classes  were  held  in  a  private  residence  until  school  rooms 
were  added  to  the  church  in  1868.  Miss  Potter  conducted  one  of 
these  classes  near  Metuchen  because  "it  was  quite  impossible  for  the 
children  of  that  section  to  reach  the  town." 

The  second  superintendant  was  Dr.  William  Barton  whose  wife 
established  the  Sabbath  School  Society  to  benefit  and  help  finance  the 
work  of  the  school.  The  Society  bought  paper  supplies  for  the  chil- 
dren and  books  for  the  Library  which  by  the  year  1 900  had  some  600 
volumes.  This  library  was  very  important  and  the  Sunday  School 
Committee  had  many  lengthy  discussions  over  each  and  every  book 
that  was  purchased  for  it. 

The  minutes  of  the  monthly  Sabbath  School  meetings  indicate 
that  various  "entertainments"  were  arranged  for  the  children  of  the 
Sabbath  School.  The  records  of  August  19,  1877  state  that  a  picnic 
was  going  to  be  held  at  Boynton  Beach  on  Tuesday,  the  27th.  The 
committees  for  this  picnic  included  one  for  the  "procuring  of  wagons 
and  teams."  In  July  1883,  our  church  families  joined  several  other 
area  churches  on  the  first  of  a  yearly  excursion  to  Asbury  Park.  Other 
"entertainments"  included  a  Christmas  Festival  where  a  tree  was  pro- 
vided, a  church  supper  was  held  and  prizes  were  awarded  to  the  chil- 
dren who  attended  most  regularly,  who  learned  their  lessons  well  or 
who  "brought  the  most  souls  to  class."  These  three  activities  were 
continued,  in  one  form  or  another,  well  into  the  1900's. 

But  the  members  of  the  committee  did  not  just  concern  themselves 
with  the  work  of  providing  "entertainments;"  they  had  long  discussions 
on  the  problems  of  raising  funds  (the  Sabbath  School  tried  to  be  self- 
supporting),  the  difticulty  of  keeping  the  "little  one's  minds  on  the 
task  at  hand,"  the  best  ways  to  increase  attendance,  and  sometimes 
even,  on  the  behavior  of  some  of  the  teachers. 

The  members  of  the  committee  were  indeed  people  of  faith  and 
service.  Many  people  were  involved  in  the  work  of  the  Sabbath  School 
and  much  labor,  time,  and  effort  was  put  into  the  work  of  the  Church. 
Because  they  were  disappointed  in  the  School  attendance,  which  on 
Rallying  Day  was  about  150,  they  established  the  Home  Department, 
a  program  for  taking  the  School  into  the  homes  of  the  people. 


09 


The  Sabbath  School  also  encouraged  the  children  to  donate  to 
the  work  of  missitins.  The  offering  on  the  last  Sunday  of  each  month 
was  used  for  the  work  of  the  church  World-Wide. 

The  Sunday  School  records  for  1908-1909  state  that  the  school 
had  twenty  teachers,  nine  ollicers  including  a  librarian  and  an  average 
attendance  of  one  hundred  thirty  to  one  hundred  forty  children.  The 
record  attendance  for  1909  was  370  on  Rallying  Day.  The  curriculum 
used  was  the  Westminster  Quarterly.  Children's  Day  and  the  Anni- 
versary Exercise  was  a  combined  annual  celebration  which  was  held 
in  June.  It  must  have  been  a  very  special  affair  for  special  programs 
were  written  and  invitations  were  sent  to  all  the  churches  in  the  area. 

The  attendance  records  for  February  8,  1921  proved  that  the 
Sunday  School  continued  to  develop.  It  had  seven  different  sections 
—  a  Cradle  Roll,  Beginners,  Primary,  Junior,  Intermediate  and  Senior 
Departments.  By  the  time  of  the  Sunday  School's  110th  birthday,  the 
committee  had  44  members.  The  activities  included  not  only  Sunday 
morning  classes  and  all  of  the  activities  already  mentioned,  but  also 
Daily  Vacation  Bible  School,  Rally  Days,  Special  Sunday  Worship 
Services,  Mission  Projects,  The  White  Gift  Program,  teacher  training 
courses  and  conferences  and  a  Sunday  School  Orchestra. 

Through  the  years,  the  activities  of  the  Sunday  School  continued 
to  grow.  The  activities  changed  with  the  times,  the  facilities  were 
expanded  by  the  building  of  Fellowship  Hall  and  curriculum  materials 
were  constantly  updated  and  revised  but  the  problems  facing  the  com- 
mittee for  the  Sunday  School  remained  the  same  —  how  to  increase 
attendance,  how  to  finance  a  growing  church  school  and  how  to  find 
devoted  and  capable  teachers  who  would  help  our  young  people  to 
develop  into  active,  committed  Christians. 

In  1972  when  our  church  was  renovated  a  new  Christian  Educa- 
tion building  was  constructed.  The  Sabbath  School  which  over  the 
years  had  met  in  private  residences,  in  basements,  in  overcrowded  con- 
ditions in  Fellowship  Hall,  finally  had  adequate  facilities  in  which  to 
conduct  its  very  vital  task,  the  job  of  educating  its  young  children  in 
the  faith  of  its  forefathers.  Hopefully,  they  will  become  the  kind  of 
people  to  whom  religion  is  not  a  mere  incident  but  a  vital  part  of  their 
lives.  The  people  who  have  served  our  Sunday  School  have  been  nu- 
merous and  dedicated.  There  would  be  no  Sunday  School  today  if  it 
had  not  been  for  those  men  and  women  of  "faith  and  vision." 


110 


To  our  youth,  who  at  times  are 
impetuous  and  demanding,  yet  who 
constantly  remind  us  that  we  must  not 
become  weary  or  discouraged  in  the 
Master's  Service,  we  dedicate  this  book. 


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