Professional Documents
Culture Documents
ITT
H5
CHURCH MEMBERS,
MARRIAGES AND BAPTISMS,
AT
HANOVER, MORRIS CO., N.
J.,
DURING THE
PASTORATE OF Rev. JACOB GREEN,
AND TO THE
Settlement of Rev. Aaron Condit.
1746
1796.
So \z.
PREFACE.
The first Church established within the bounds of the pres-
ent County of Morris was the
'
Hanover" Church at Whippanong,
or Whippany as it is now called. An account of the establish-
ment and early history of this Church, evidently written by Dr.
Jacob Green, and taken from the ancient book of Church records,
is as follows
:
"
About the year 1710 a few families moved from Newark &
Elisabeth Town &c & settled on the west side of pesaick Eiver in
that which is now Morris County. Not long after the settlers
erected an House for the publick worship of God on the Bank of
Whippenung River (about three miles west of pesaick river),
about one hundred rodsbelow the Forge, which is and has long been
known by the name of the old Iron works. There wasaChh. gath-
ered and in the year 1718* Mr. Nathaniel Hubbel was ordained and
settled there by the Presbytery of New York. About this time this
place obtained the name of Hanover and became a township but
the place was most commonly known by the Indian name Whippe-
nung. Mr. Hubbil continued minister here till 1730*
when for
some uneasiness between him and the people he was dismissed.
This Chh, had then no proper book of records and if Mr. Hubbel
kept any Chh. records, upon paper of his own, they were not left
to those that came after. In the year
1730*
Mr. John Nutman
was ordained pastor of the Chh. in Hanover. About this time or
not long after there was a new parish erected at Morris Town not
without much contention and difficulty between Hanover con-
gregation and them. In the year 1745 Mr. Nutman was dis-
mist from his pastoral relation to the church, occasioned by unea-
siness subsisting between him and the people. This Chh. had still
no book for record and if Mr. Nuttman kept any on paper of his
own they were not known of by those that came after. Novem-
ber, 1746, Mr. Jacob Green was ordained pastor of the Chh. in
Hanover. The meeting house was then old and small and there
were proposals for building a new one. But some families in the
*
Date left blank in original.
2 PREFACE.
south end of the Town and neighboriniJ^ parts, thinking they
should not be suited with the position of the meeting House went
off, and contrary to the endeavours of the presbytery erected a
new meeting House in the south end of the town which has been
called South Hanover. Mr. Green continued to preach at the old
meeting House till the beginning of the year 1755 when accord-
ing to the determination of the presbytery two places were erected
for public worship the one at Precipining the other on the neck,
about half a mile west of Pesaik River on the road that goes to
Newark about eastward of the old meeting House. Mr. Green
was ordered by Presby to preach at both tlaese places ; which he
continued to do till the year 1760. When Precipining were allowed
by the Presby to seek a minister for themselves, and Mr. Green was
continued at the new meeting house on the neck, and the Chh.
at that house has been properly considered as the first Chh in
Hanover, for but a small part of the old congregation went to
Persipining, and all the elders and the deacons that belonged to
the chh. at the old meeting house, were within the bounds and
belonged to the congregation that met at the new meeting House
on the neck. When Mr. Green settled there was no Chh. Book he
often applyed to the Chh. to procure one ; but by one means or
other it has been neglected till this present year 1767. After he
was settled in the ministry Mr Green began to record baptisms
&c. on papers of his own. But after some years, by one means or
other he began to be negligent so that for the space of several
years or from anno 1757 to 1769 but few baptisms are recorded.
The records that have been kept since Mr. Greens Settlement are
now inserted in this Book."
The earliest record of the church is the deed dated 2d of
September, 1718, from John Richards,
"
schoolmaster," for three
and a half acres of land adjoining the Whippanong River,
"
in
consideration of ye love, good will and affection which I have and
do bear towards my Christian friends and neighbours in Whippa-
nong,"
"
and especially of those who shall or may mutually cov-
enant by subscription to erect"
"
a Decent and Suitable Meeting
house for the Public Worship of God." The land was granted
"
for a Meeting house, school house, burying yard, training field
and such like Public uses." The lot so conveyed covers the old
burying ground at Whippany and upon its North-west corner the
first Church was erected, probably of a very humble character.
It was in December of 1718, after the death of Mr. Richards, that
Mr. Hubbel was settled and became the first pastor of the church.
He ministered to this church, a part of the time conjointly with
the church at Westfield, Essex County, until 1730, when he was
dismissed as stated by Mr. Green. Mr. Nutman, for the first
three years of his pastorate, had for his parish all the settled por-
tion of Morris County. The first church at Mendhani or Roxsiticus
was commenced about 1745. The settlement of the South-westerly
section of the County, made principally by Germans, coming from
PREFACE.
3
the Delaware, had been begun, but there was no church in that
region until 1747,
(possibly
1748,) when a church was in existence
at
"
Foxenburg." The Dutch Reformed Church atPonipton,
just
over the line in then Bergen County, was built in 1736, and Bask-
ingridge Presbyterian Church in Somerset Co., Dr. Eankin
says,
was built after 1720.
When Mr. Green began his ministry the parsonage was at
Lower Whippany, nearly opposite the Grist Mill, but in 1757 a
new one was erected near the new church, to which the pastor re-
moved his family in the spring of the following
year. This house
is still standing and is on the opposite side of the street from the
present parsonage, but a little farther to the East.
The record of church members, marriages and baptisms
kept
by Mr. Green continued to the beginning of the ministry of Rev.
Aaron Condit, July 1st, 1796, is contained in this pamphlet.
W. OGDEN WHEELER,
EDMUND D. HALSEY.
September 14, 1893.
CHURCH
MEMBERS.
December
MEMBERS.
January 15, 1764,
February 12,
Ncveraber25, 1764,
December 2,
March 10, 1765,
May 5,
June 2,
23,
July 25,
August
4,
September 8,
15,
November 15, 1767,
April 16, 1769,
Caleb Ball and Hannah Tompkins.
*^V^illiain Ely and his wife and Silvanu;
Hedges.
Edward Byram and his wife.
*Mary, wife of Samuel Dalglish.
Matthew Campfield.
Jacob Drake.
Silas Tompkins.
*Enoch Beach and Susannah his wife.
Joseph (longer.
Kezia, wife Gilbert Thornton.
Cornelius Atwood.
*
William Broadwell and *Uzal Kitchel.
Jemima Bill.
Hellen, wife of Jacob Drake.
*
Jemima Gardner.
Anne, the wife of Samuel Ball.
Suzannab Tichner, wife of James Tichner.
Phebe, wife of John Tuttle.
"
Memorandum.At the time of writing this, 1770, there
are three persons, viz
:
John Hopper and his wife and William
Dixon who from other Chs. joyned with us have for a considera-
ble time neglected to come to our communion and behave in an
unbecoming manner of whom tis hard to say whether they belong
to our ch. or not. To these may be added also Ezekiel Halsey."
*'
Persons now belonging to the ch. in 1771 who were in the
ch. when Mr. Green was settled 1746. Deacon John BallDea-
con Joseph TuttleElder Joseph Kitchel Elder Ephraim Price
When Mr. Green settled in the ministry John Ball, & Joseph Tuttle
were Deacons in the church
; But.there were no Elders or representatives
of the church.
June 5, 1747. The Church met and chose for Elders or representatives
Mess. John Ball, Joseph Tuttle, Ephraim Price, Joseph Kitchel & Peter
Beach.
November, 1764. Ephraim Price & Peter Beach having been dead some
years & the other Elders advanced in age, the church met and chose three
more Elders, vizEphraim Price, Stephen Munson and Benjamin Green.
November 10, 1775. The Deacons Tuttle & Ball being old and infirm
desire the chh. would shoose two more Deacons accordingly at a Chh.
meeting this day they chose or Deacons Benjamin Green & Stephen
Munson.
November, 1777. The Chh. chose for Elders Joseph Tuttle, Junr. &
David Bates.
LIBRARY OF
CONGRE
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