A sketch of the history of the Presbyterian Church, in Jamaica, L.I.

Front matter

Class L_

Book. ■ Jjz^

A SliETCH

Preface

In the following pages the compiler has aimed at the greatest accuracy. He has also studied to be as brief as any thing like a satisfactory view of events, extending through more than one hundred and eighty years, would allow.

He acknowledges himself indebted to the sketches left by Mr. Faitoute and Mr. Crane, and to manuscripts amounting to more than one hundred pages, relating principally to the early history of this church, kindly put into his hands by an antiquarian friend.

He has been much assisted by the full and impartial outline of ecclesiastical affairs, in Thompson'sL History of Long Island, a book for which the author deserves well of the citizens of his native island. But his special acknowledgments are due to Henry Onderdonk, Jr., Principal of Union Hall Academy, and author of Revolutionary Incidents, who, in his extensive re-

PREFACE.

searches, has taken the trouble to note whatever might throw light on the history of this church, for the use of the compiler, or has directed him to sources of valuable information.

Parsonage-House, ) Jamaica, Sept. 20, 1847. \

Introduction

The first inhabitants came to Jamaica, dm'ing the administration of Peter Stuyvesant. The Enghsh, however, laying claim to the same territory, it was smTendered to them, by the Dutch, in the year of our Lord 1664.

After the Revolution in England, in 1688, a great change took place in the Colonial government. A General Assembly was allowed, which consisted of deputies, chosen by the freeholders of each County, to whom, together with the Governor and the Council, the legislative power was intrusted.

In 1692, Col. Fletcher arrived, with a commission to be Governor of the Colony. He very soon manifested great zeal to form a " religious establishment ;" and, whilst the government was in his hands, a new policjr was adopted, in respect to ecclesiastical affairs, which, at length, produced much dissension, and operated with disastrous effect on the Presbyterian churches, in Hempstead and Jamaica. The recommendation of the Governor was for " the settling of an able ministry," but no intimation was given that the Episcopal denomination was to be exclusively supported by law. The majority of the Assembly were

8 INTRODUCTION.

entirely disinclined to the scheme ; but, as the model of the Church of Holland had been secured to them by one of the articles of surrender, it is not probable that they suspected Fletcher of his design to introduce uniformity of religion, or to have the Episcopal denomination exclusively supported by law. The Governor warmly rebuked them, asserting that the same law which secured to them the privileges of Englishmen did " provide for the religion of the Church of England." Fletcher was a bigot to the Episcopal form of church government.*

In Sept. 1G93, a new Assembly met. The determination of the Governor at length induced the house to yield; and a bill was "brought in for settling the ministry, and raising a maintenance for them in the City and County of New- York, Counties of Richmond and Westchester and Queen's County." The bill was drawn by James Grahame, Esq., the Speaker of the Assembly, who was the only member of that body who belonged to the Church of England. As the inhabitants of Jamaica were, at that time, engaged in erecting a new house of worship, and had applied to the Assembly for an Act to enable them to raise money for completing the work. Col. Fletcher and Grahame, perceiving the Assembly inclined to pass such an Act, thought it a favorable opportunity, to press their favorite measure for a religious establishment, and accordingly brought in the bill aforesaid. It was artfully framed, and prescribed a method of induction that " would not do well for the Dissenters, and but lamely for the Church, tho' 'twould do with the help of the

INTRODUCTION. 9

Governor."* The bill passed and was sent to the Governor and Council, who immediately returned it, with an amendment to the effect that ministers should be " presented to the Governor to be approved and collated." The members of the house refused to pass the amendment. Fletcher was so highly exasperated, that he summoned the representatives forthwith to the council chamber, and told them that he had " the power of collating or suspending any minister in his government." Smith thinks that it can only be attributed to the simplicity of the times that the members of the Assembly peaceably put up with that man's rudeness. The charter of privileges granted by the Duke of York to the inhabitants of New- York provided that all " persons which profess in Godlynesse Jesus Christ" might "from time to time, and at all times, have and fully enjoy their judgments and consciences in matters of religion throughout all the province." The same charter confirmed "the respective Christian churches now in practice within the Citty of New-Yorke, Long Island, and the other places of this province," " that they shall be held and reputed as

PRIVELDGED ChURCIIES, AND ENJOY THEIR FORMER FREE- DOMS OF THEIR RELIGION, IN DIVINE WORSHIP AND CHURCH DISCIPLINE."

In the spring of 1695, the Assembly declared, in explanation of the Act of 1G93, " That the vestry-men and church wardens have power to call a dissenting Protestant minister, and that he is to be paid and maintained as the Act directs." This was done on account of the attempt to interpret the Act as made for the

* Col. Lewis Morris' MS. Letter to the Ven. See. 1*

10 INTRODUCTION.

sole benefit of the Episcopal denomination. The design of the Governor, and the secret of all his zeal, for " settling the ministry," was now made evident ; for he rejected the interpretation of the Assembly, and decided that the act applied solely to the Episcopal ministry.

Lord Cornbury was appointed to succeed the Earl of Bellomont in the government, and he arrived in the Colony, early in the year 1702. In his zeal for Episcopacy he was not behind any of his predecessors, and therefore he was a fit instrument to carry out the policy of Gov. Fletcher. " His persecution of the Presbyterians very early increased the number of his enemies ; the Dutch too were fearful of his religious rage against them, as he disputed their right to call and settle ministers, or even schoolmasters, without his special hcense." "We never had a Governor so universally detested, nor any who so richly deserved the public abhorrence. In spite of his noble descent, his behavior was trifling, mean, and extravagant. It was not uncommon for him to dress himself in a woman's habit, and then to patrol the fort in which he resided. Such freaks of low humor exposed him to the universal contempt of the people ; but their indignation was kindled by his despotic rule, savage bigotry, insatiable avarice, and injustice, not only to the public, but even his private creditors ; for he left some of the lowest tradesmen, in his employment, unsatisfied in their just demands."*

Such was the man whom the Presbyterians of Jamaica long had cause to remember. To honor his * Smith, I. pp. 190, 194.

INTRODUCTION. 11

memory,* must be to disregard the most authentic testimony as to his true character. " Cornbury became so obnoxious to the inhabitants of this province that they sent a complaint to England against him. The queen in consequence of this complaint displaced him."f " Lord Cornbury did more to bring disgrace upon the administration of the Colony, than all his predecessors together. There was never probably a Governor of New- York so universally detested, and who so richy deserved it."J Grahame says, "in every quarter of the province the Governor offered his assistance to the Episcopalians, to put them in possession of the ecclesiastical edifices that other sects had built ; and to the disgrace of some of the zealots of Episcopacy, this offer was in various instances accepted, and produced the most disgusting scenes of riot, injustice, and confusion."

* See a Discourse by Rev. W. M. Carmichael, delivered at Hempstead, 1841.

t Notes on Brooklyn, by Hon. G. Furman, p. 108. t Thompson, 11. 108.

Chapter I. 1656—1700

Settlement of Jamaica. — Daniel Denton. — Extracts from the early Records. — Measures taken for the regular preaching of the Gospel. — Zechariah Walker engaged. — First house of worship erected. — Mr. W.'s departure. — John Prudden called. — Church organized. — Was it Presbyterian 1 — Mr. P. leaves. — Wm. Woodruff. — Mr. Prudden returns. — Removes to Newark. — His death and character. — The old stone meeting-house built. — Jeremiah Hobart called. — George Phillips. — J. Hobart becomes minister. — Mr. Hobart's testimony to the value of the Bible.

The first entry in the records of Jamaica is dated the 18th of February, 1656 ; but it is probable that tlie settlement of the town was commenced the year before. The first inhabitants, there is abundant evidence to prove, were men of character and piety. They had fled from tyranny and oppression in the old world, and were ardently devoted to the cause of civil liberty, and zealous for the purity and simplicity of the Protestant religion. In the reign of Charles II., both civil and religious liberty had been overthrown " by the illegal and tyrannical extension of the royal prerogative, and by the intolerance of the established church." The first settlers belonged to that noble race of men — those fearless advocates of civil and religious liberty — from whom it should be regarded as a great honor to have descended, I mean the Enghsh Non-conformists.

A few of them came to this place from Hempstead, which had been settled ten or twelve years before ; the remainder of the original seventeen probably came directly from New England. The Dentons, the Everitts, the Mills's, the Rhoades's, and the Smiths, among the original proprietors — the Skidmores, the Creeds, the Higbies, the Carpenters, the Baylies and the Lambersons, all mentioned as among the earlier inhabitants, are still represented here by numerous descendants, who, for the most part, belong to the Presbyterian congregation, and constitute no inconsiderable portion of it. Daniel Denton, the first town clerk, was a son of the Rev. Richard Denton, minister of Hempstead. He wrote " A Brief Description of New- York, formerly called New Amsterdam," which was published in London in 1670. A copy of the work is in the Library of Columbia College ; it has also, within a few years, been republished by the Philadelphia Historical Society. Mr. Denton, in company with Luke Watson, and John Baylie, purchased of the Indians the tract of land on which Elizabethtown, N. J., was built. Watson and Baylie, who had been influential characters in this town, are mentioned, together with two others, as the persons to whom Gov. NicoU granted a patent for this tract. Elizabethtown was settled in 1664, and Luke Watson and John Baylie were among the first settlers of that respectable place.

The name given to this town by the original settlers was Jemaica, no doubt derived from Yemacah,* * Town Records.

the name of a branch, or a few famihes, of the Rockewa tribe of Indians, who resided along the small stream, running from Beaver Pond, and at the head of the bay. The Dutch government conferred on the settlement the name of Rusdorp, which occurs more frequently in the early records, and was probably used exclusively in conveyances of property. After the surrender of the colony to the English, Jamaica soon came to be exclusively used.

The following are extracts from the first volume of the Records of the town, which was carefully transcribed by James Martin, Esq., in 1797. The original is in a tolerable state of preservation.

Feb. 27th, 1658. It is y^ day voted, ordered and agreed upon by this town of Rusdorp, that no person or persons whatsoever, within this town, shall sell or give directly or indirectly, to any Indian or Indians whatsoever, within or about y'' said town, any strong licker or strong drinks whatsoever or of what sort soever, either much or little, more or less, upon the forfeiture of fifty Guilders [nearly twenty dollars] for every offence.

Jan. 21st, 1659. One Benjamin Hubard, who had bought a house-lot, without the approbation or knowledge of the town, was required to bind himself " to behave so in the town y' he no waies prejudice his neighbours, by any unlawful or bad courses ; and y*^ said Benjamin doth engage himself if he shall fullfill not all and every particular in y*^ premises, to surrender up his lot again to the town."

March 13th, 1662. It is ordered and agreed by the town that John Baylie shall keep an Ordinary in the town of Rusdorp, for the entertaining of strangers, and also to sell drink, and that no man shall have liberty to sell drink, whether beer or liquors, or any sort of wine, within this town only the Ordinary keeper aforesaid, and that he shall forthwith set upon the work to provide for strangers, and to give entertainment to such strangers as shall come.

The inhabitants early manifested a desire to have a minister of the Gospel among them. It is quite certain that public worship was regularly established as early at least as January, 1662. Under date of Jan. 30th of that year, we have this record : " The town do give Abraham Smith 30s. for beating the drum a year." In the minute of the following year, the object of beating the drum is stated. " Jan. 29, 1663. It is voted by the town, that Abraham Smith shall have 305. a year for beating the drum upon Sabbath days, and other public meeting days," &c. All the people, at that time, were of the same religious denomination, and so continued for forty or fifty years ;* and all ecclesiastical business was conducted by the town, assembled in town meeting. A meeting of the town was a meeting of the congregation, which after having disposed of matters secular, could attend to the business of the church. Accordingly the early history of the Presbyterian congregation is to be derived mainly from the records of the town. All the early ministers were called by the town, or the magistrates in its behalf, and their maintenance was raised by the town. The same persons constituted the church and the town ; and the two boards of magistrates and elders, in places where these latter officers were found, were often the same individuals. f The first volume of minutes of the town of Jamaica are very brief, and somewhat imper-

* Rev. G. J. Garretson's Disc, p. 10.

t Rev. S. Woodbridge, Jr.'s, Hist. Dis., p. 8.

feet, SO that the earliest history of the church is necessarily involved in considerable obscurity. It may be added that there are no records of the session of the church, prior to the year 17G2 ; although it can be proved that there w^as a regular session, if not from the beginning, yet long anterior to that date.

March 6th, 1662. It was ordered by the town that the rates for the minister should be levied upon meadows ; and, at the same meeting, it was further ordered, "that the townsmen (the select-men or magistrates) shall look after the procuring of a minister ;" which proves that although there had probably been occasional preaching prior to this date, the place was not, as yet, statedly supplied. The " townsmen " who were charged with the aforesaid business, were John Baylie, Nathaniel Denton, and Thomas Foster. During this year the town proceeded to erect " a minister's house," which, from the " the articles of agreement " with the contractors, on record, must have been a substantial dwelling. There appears to have been such an entire unanimity in this movement, that " every man " in the town engaged to pay his proportion of the expense. They evidently set a high value on the gospel, not delaying until some missionary, by foreign aid, should find his way among them, to labor single-handed, in the midst of the indifferent or opposers, but preparing the way for the ambassador of the cross, by furnishing the means of giving him a welcome reception. Can we wonder that God has so signally blessed an enterprise which was begun in such a spirit ? May such men never want worthy successors, who, when the interests of religion demand it, shall be ready, " every

MR. walker's ministry. 17

man to pay and bring in what shall come to their shares " of any necessary expense !

Dec. 20th, 1662. The town appointed a committee of five men to " make the rate for the minister's house, and transporting the minister ;" from which it appears that a minister had now been engaged to settle at Jamaica. And under date of Feb. 14th, 1663, seven years after the settlement of the town, appears, for the first time in the records, the name of the first minister of this place,

ZECHARIAH WALKER.

The minute is as follows :

Feb. 14th, 1663. A town-meeting called. Voted and agreed upon by the town that goodman Benedic and Nathaniel Denton shall be overseers, in behalf of the town, to supply Mr. Walker's wants, what he shall stand in need of, according as the town shall agree to make a supply, and to appoint men as their turns come to bring in, what shall be needful in the premises, as need shall require.

Voted by the town at what rate or price, Mr. Walker shall be paid in. Concluded that he shall have threescore pounds per annum, and that it shall be paid by rate, the rates to be levied upon lands and estates ; that is, to be paid in corn, the wheat to be paid at six shillings a bushel and Indian at three shillings sixpence a bushel.

March 2d, 1663. "We whose names are underwritten, do, by these presents, give unto Mr. Walker, his heirs or assigns, the house, and home-lot, that he lives in, with the accommodations belonging to it upon the premises ; that if he go away and leave the town without any just grounds or cause given by the town,

18 MR. walker's ministry.

that then the town shall have the refusal of it, paying for such labours as he hath or shall expend upon it, and it shall return again to the town ; but if the town shall act so that they shall be the cause of his going away, then the lot to remain as his and his heirs', only the town to have the refusal of it, to buy it for what it shall be worth ; and if it happen that the said Mr. Walker should die, then his wife shall let the town have the refusal of it, if she shall sell it." Then follow the names of twenty-four persons, including, it is probable, the whole number of freeholders in the town at that time.

From the foregoing extracts it appears that Mr. Walker's salary was £60 per annum, with the use of a house, and a home-lot, to be his in fee-simple, if he remained as minister of the town, or if his leaving should be occasioned by the people. In raising this generous support, so much beyond what many infant churches, at the present day, especially in the new settlements, feel themselves able to do, every inhabitant contributed his due proportion.

Mr. Walker was a young man about twenty-five years of age, and preached at Jamaica as a licentiate. Mr. Wood says he probably came from England, and Mr. Crane, in his MS. history of this church, adds that he probably came from England before he was ordained, but as a licentiate. Mr. Thompson, however, asserts that he was a native of Boston, and was the son of Robert Walker, who was made a freeman at that place in 1634.

Aug. 30th, 1663. A town-meeting called. Voted and agreed upon by the town that a Meeting House shall be built twenty-six feet square, and that Mr. Coe and Ralph Keeler shall agree with George Norton for the building of it.

MR. walker's ministry. 19

This house was probably finished soon after, but, as the town erected another before the close of the century, we may presume that it was a cheap structure. Of its site, tradition has not, to my knowledge, left any trace.

In Dec, 1663, it was agreed that the inhabitants "shall pay towards the maintenance of the minister, according to what they possess." In Feb., 1664, another committee was appointed to " gather up and look after to supply Mr. Walker such things as he shall stand in need of" In Sept., 1665, the salary before mentioned was continued to Mr. Walker, and the town further stipulated to cut and cart all his wood, to " till his grounds, and harvest his corn," and that Mr. W. should have his wheat at five shillings, instead of six, per bushel. It is gratifying to notice this liberal treatment of their minister, on the part of the first settlers of this town, and to be able to bear testimony — as I may properly do in this place — that the present congregation maintain the character of their ancestors in this respect.

In March, 1666, the town agreed to add five pounds to Mr. Walker's salary, provided he should obtain ordination, and thus not only " capacitate himself for the preaching of the word, but for the baptizing of infants." This proposal, as it shows a solicitude to enjoy the ordinances of the gospel, and particularly recognizes the duty of dedicating their offspring to God in baptism, speaks volumes in favor of the piety of the first inhabitants. He did not, it would seem, obtain ordination agreeable to the wishes of the town, for he took his departure from Jamaica shortly after, in consequence, as is evident, of the strong desire of the people to have

20 MR. WALKER S MINISTRY.

an ordained minister. On the 7th of Aug., 1668, the town appointed a committee to make a final settlement with him. This committee was directed to pay him for the improvements he had made on the parsonage and glebe, from which it is evident, according to the terms of the agreement made March 2d, 1663, that his departure was not from any occasion given by the people.

He went to Stratford, Conn., where he received ordination, but removed to Woodbury * in 1678, of which place he was the first minister, and where he died, Jan., 1699, aged sixty-two. Robert Walker, who was a Judge of the Superior Court of Connecticut, is said by Thompson to have been his son, and Gen. Joseph Walker, an officer of the Revolution, his grandson.

It is quite certain that there was no church regularly constituted during Mr. Walker's residence in Jamaica, as inferred from a minute in the records — which will be noticed in the proper place — under the ministry of his successor.

* " The following tradition is preserved respecting the occasion of Mr. Walker's coming to Woodbury. At the period of the first settlement of Woodbury, there were two candidates in Stratford, Mr. Walker and Mr. Reed. As there was some controversy who should leave, and go with the Woodbury settlers, they were requested to deliver a discourse on the day when it was to be decided — Mr. Walker in the forenoon and Mr. Reed in the afternoon. Mr. Walker took for his text, ' What went ye out into the wilderness for to see ? a reed shaken with the wind ?' He enlarged upon the circumstances and propriety of a reed being found in the wilderness, &c. Mr. Reed, in the afternoon, took for his te.xt, ' Your adversary, the devil, walketh about,' &c. In the course of his observations, he stated that the great adversary of men was a great walker, and, instead of remaining with the brethren, ought to be kept walking at a distance." — Connecticut Hist. Coll., by J. W. Barber, p. 504, note.

MR. prudden's ministry. 21

JOHN PRUDDEN.

Nearly two years passed away before the town succeeded in obtaining this minister, during which the Rev. EHphalet Jones, then of Greenwich, Conn., but who settled in Huntington in 1676, was invited to visit the town ; but it does not appear that he complied with the request. Mr. Prudden was called March 6th, 1670. He was a son of the Rev. Peter Prudden, who came to New Haven in company with the celebrated John Davenport, and had charge of the church in Wethersfield, Conn., in 1638. John was born at Milford, Conn., Nov. 9th, 1645, to which place his father had removed, with a few of his congregation, in 1640, and begun the settlement of that town.* He graduated at Harvard Collegef in 1668, and was twenty-five years of age when he came to Jamaica.

At the same town-meeting at which Mr. Prudden was called, it was ordered " that a convenient pew should be made for the minister to preach in," from which it may be inferred that the house of worship, built in 1663, was but a rude edifice.

May 24th, 1672, it appears from the records that Mr. Prudden desired the town to allow him to build a house on the minister's lot, so called. The town accordingly appointed a committee to make an agreement with him. Three days after, on the 27th of May, this committee, on behalf of the town, entered into a written agreement with Mr. Prudden, to this effect : that his salary, £40 per annum, was to continue as before ; that

* Hinman's Cat. of Puritan Names of Conn., p. 66. t Trien. Cat.

22 MR. prudden's ministry.

he might proceed to build on the minister's lot ; that if he should leave them through their default, they would reimburse him for the expenses incurred ; or in case the town should not see fit to pay for the house, then he should have liberty to remove it from their lot. " And for the confirmation of this agreement (I quote from the copy on record) the town did voluntarily engage themselves, at a town-meeting, held the third of June, that they would not obstruct or hinder, hut rather further the coming into a church way, according to the rules of the Gospel in this town, hy Mr. Prudden, and such as will join with him." The " coming into a church way, according to the rules of the Gospel," is language that cannot be mistaken ; it must refer to the organization of a church. It proves that up to the 3d of June, 1672, there had been no regularly constituted church of Christ in this place. The town had now been settled sixteen years, and it was ten years since Mr. Walker began his labors. But the inhabitants, it should be remembered, were few and isolated, and every thing was in an unorganized state at the time of Mr. Walker's arrival. Mr. W., moreover, was unordained, which fact, as the people earnestly desired to have the sacraments administered, finally led to his removal. Nearly two years more expired before the town succeeded in getting a successor. The language, therefore, that " they would not obstruct or hinder, but rather further the coming into a church way," may be understood not merely as expressing a respectful response to a proposition of Mr. Prudden on this subject, but as a cordial assent to it. It should also be remembered that those persons, among the first settlers of this tpwn, who

MR. prudden's ministry. 23

came from Hempstead, might have been members of the church in that place, and that no doubt they retained their membership in it, enjoying the privilege of statedly communing with their brethren, and of occasional visits from Mr. Denton, their pastor. It is also natural to suppose that other settlers, who came from New England, and other parts, would connect themselves with the church at Hempstead, or at least seek the privilege of occasional communion.

The question now arises, whether a church was organized at, or soon after, the above-mentioned date. This question, I think, is sufficiently answered in the affirmative, from the fact that the vote to further the organization of a church, was passed at a town meeting, convened to confirm the agreement which their committee had previously entered into with Mr. Prudden ; and that he remained, in accordance with the conditions he had entered into with the town.

Our next inquiry relates to the kind of church which was formed. In the early records I cannot find that the word Congregational, or Independent, or Presbyterian, is ever used in a single instance. It has sometimes been inferred that because the major part of the people were supposed to have come from New England, it must have been a Congregational church. But this would not follow, even admitting that all the inhabitants came directly from New England. The Puritans were not all Congregational ists. This was a term applied to Independents, Presbyterians, and even to Episcopalians — to all who desired a greater degree of purity in doctrines, discipline, and ceremonies, than characterized the Church of England. Nor were the

24 MR. trudden's ministry.

Puritans of New England all Congregationalists. The truth is, " that as the great majority of Puritans in England were Presbyterian, so no inconsiderable proportion of those who came to America, preferred the Presbyterian form of church government."* Previous to the year 1G40, according to Cotton Mather, four thousand Presbyterians had arrived in New England. " Of the two thousand Presbyterian ministers cast out of the Church of England, by the Act of Uniformity in 1662, a considerable number, it is said, found refuge in New England." The immigrants, who had not enjoyed any separate ecclesiastical organization in England, were willing to unite in this country in a modified form of church government, (in which the respective parties relinquished certain of their peculiarities,) which was called Congregationalism. Trumbull, in speaking of the Council that formed the Saybrook Platform, says that some of the members were " in their sentiments nearly Presbyterians, 'f This is sufficiently proved by the Platform itself. Hence it is wrong to infer that emigrants from New England must, as a matter of course, have been Congregationalists, or that, if a minister came from New England, he could not have been a Presbyterian.