xt7pg44hqs8n https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7pg44hqs8n/data/mets.xml New Jersey Historical Records Survey, Division of Women's and Professional Projects, Works Progress Administration New Jersey New Jersey Historical Records Survey, Division of Women's and Professional Projects, Works Progress Administration 1938 xxiv, 289 l.: maps 28 cm. UK holds archival copy for ASERL Collaborative Federal Depository Program libraries. Call Number: Y 3.W 89/2:43 N 42j/2 books English Newark, N.J.: Historical Records Survey This digital resource may be freely searched and displayed in accordance with U. S. copyright laws. New Jersey Works Progress Administration Publications Baptists -- New Jersey -- Archives -- Bibliography Baptists -- New Jersey -- History -- Sources -- Bibliography Baptists -- New Jersey -- Directories Baptists -- New Jersey -- History Inventory of the Church Archives of New Jersey. Baptist Bodies, 1938 text Inventory of the Church Archives of New Jersey. Baptist Bodies, 1938 1938 1938 2021 true xt7pg44hqs8n section xt7pg44hqs8n UNIVERSWY OF KENTUCKY

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w0121<5 121105.255 ADMINISTRATION
NEWARK,HEWJE2$EY

1955

INVENTORY OF THE CHURCH ARCHIVES

OF NEW JERSEY

Prepared by

The Historical Records Survey
Division of'Women15 and Professional Projects
Works Progress Administration

BAPTIST BODIES

Newark, New Jersey
The Historical Records Survey

December 1938

The Historical Records Survey

Luther H. Evans, National Director
John A. Millington, State Director

Division of Women's and Professional Projects

Ellen S. Woodward, Assistant Amninistrator
Elizabeth C. Denny Vann, State Director

WORKS PROGRESS ADMINISTRATION

Harry L. Hopkins, Administrator
Robert W} Allan, Acting State Administrator

f '77::sz -e.

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It is most pleasing to have the history of the
Convention; the Associations and the local churches
brought down to datei

For many years it has been the purpoSe of our
leading pastors and officers of the Convention to
have someone undertake this difficult task, but due
to the lack of financial resources this has been im-
possible.

We greatly appreciate the farsight on the part
of our Government to place in the hands of the New
Jersey Baptists the valuable information'which this
compilation contains.

. we believe the task has been well done and
should add to the efficiency of our work for many
years to come. It will be discovered that there
are many new features in this present inventory.

Charles E. Goodall

./_"/ Z; G7

2c: o 7M~cﬂa~q
Ex cutive Secretary

‘ﬁﬁh Jersey Baptist Convention

P R E F A C E

The Inventory of the Church Archives of New Jersey:
Baptist Bodies is one of a nationiwide series of inventories
.3f_the archives of all denominations now being compiled by
the Historical Records Survey. The inventory is intended to
serve not only the clergy and officers of religions organiza-
tions, but also students of social and economic history, and
persons engaged in genealogical research,

The information contained in this inventory is based
largely upon the statements of clergymen and church officials.
Such information has been supplemented by research in printed
works and in the public archives.

While the Survey has attempted to check the accuracy
of all this information, the editors realize that many inaccur—
acies and tnperfections may survive after the most careful edit—
ing. It is the hope of the Survey staff that readers will not
hesitate to inform the director of any errors in the book.

The field collection of data was by certified white-
collar workers of the Works Progress Administration. After the

original material was assembled in the state office of the Sur—
vey, it was edited by a staff of research editors under the su-
pervision of Gustave Koeppe, Rev. James Leland Vass, D.D. of the
Baptist faith, wrote the introductory essay. The series of maps,
tracing the growth and development of the denomination in the
state, was designed by Ehner V. Swan, project cartographer,

Donald A. Thompson, church editor of the National office, has

read and criticized the manuscript.

JOHN A. MILLINGTON

STATE DIRECTOR

Room 652

1060 Broad Street
Newark,New Jersey
December 25, 1938

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Foreword ............................................................ ii
Preface ...............v............................................ iii
New Jersey Baptists ................................................. v
Maps ................................................................ xix
Explanatory Notes ................a....a.............v.....o......... xxiii
National Organizations .......,................._...................... xxiv
New Jersey Baptist Convention........................................ 1
Camden Association of the New Jersey Baptist Convention ............. 1
Central Association of the New Jersey Baptist Convention............. 23
East Association of the New Jersey Baptist Convontion............ooog 52

Hudson Baptist Association and Cities Mission Society of
the NOW JOI‘SOy Baptist COlTV'OIltiOIl sage-ollnlI'UOCI'IOQIDIOOIOCOO 48

Monmouth Association of the New JCTSOy Baptist Convention .........,. 57
Morris and Essex Association of the NCW‘JOrsoy Baptist Convention.... 66
North Association of the NOW'Jerscy Baptist Convention .............. 75
Trenton Association of the New Jersey Baptist Convention ............ 85
west Association of the New Jersey Baptist Convention ......«........ 96
Unincorporated Missions of the NOW'Jersey Baptist Convention......... 111
Delaware River Old School Baptist Association........................ 115
Russian Ukrainian Baptist Union .o................................... 115
Hungarian Baptist Union in the United States of America.............. 117
Italian Baptist Association of America ................4............. 118
Eastern Seventh Day Baptist Association ............................. 119
Afro-American Baptist State Convention of NOW'Jersey ................ 123

Seacoast Baptist Missionary Association of the
Afro—American Baptist State Convention ......................... 125

Bethany Baptist Association of the Afro—American Baptist State
Convention ..g..nao.u.nanaooucoguosocoooo 129

Table of Contents
Middlcsex Central Association of the Afro-American Baptist
StCLtC ConVCn'tiOIl.o....uonouaoocallunlauuanltoaopoop...'.g

North Jersey Association of the Afro-American Baptist State

Convention............-...............................-..
New Hope Baptist Association..............................,...
Lott Carey Baptist Foreign Mission Convontion.................
Unassociated Baptist Churches.................................
Northern Baptist University...................................
Disbanded Churches ...........................................
Churches for which no information was aVailablo .............o
Reference Notes ..............o.........o.....................
Bibliography .................................................
General Index ........................................u.......
Church Name Index ............................................

Chronological Index OIOIOIIOOOIIOIOI0lltjotIIUOIIIIIDOBSIICIO

150

165

183

187

189

214

215

255
236
246
259

274

THE NEW JERSEY BAPTISTS

The Jerseys and Pennsylvania offered strong attractions to early
Baptists from 1682 onward. Here more definitely than in any part of the new
world the church found fertile soil and favorable conditions, promoting organi—
zation, unity and uniformity. In 1674, England established her claim to the
possession of Nova Caeserea, New Jersey. (1) Thus she confirmed her grants of
this territory by the crown to the Duke of York, and by him to Sir George
Carteret and to Lord John Berekeley. (2) An attitude of toleration had been
clearly exemplified by Carteret and Berkeley throughout their earlier relations
to the Jerseys. This, together with the purchase of Berkeley's interest by the
Quakers Fenwicke and Byllynge, opened the door to a large influx of Baptists
from England, wales, Ireland, and New England. (3)

The Quakers had control of West Jersey from 1677 onward, Following
the death of Carteret a company of Quakers, with William Penn at their head,
purchased his interests in 1682. (4) One year earlier this same company under
Penn had purchased Pennsylvania, Charles II, granting the deed in default of the
payment of 80,000 pounds which the crown owed Penn's father. The two areas,
Pennsylvania and West Jersey, became a haven at once for "radical" and prtnitive
types of Christianity. To the historian, purely as such, it will always seem a
marvel that a king as Charles II, should sell so rich a territory purchased for
the avowed purpose of developing a haven of religions freedom, thus abetting the
development of what Anglican England regarded as the most radical fonn of Chris-
tianity. To the churchman it is just one more demonstration of Providence.

Into these areas of West Jersey and Pennsylvania poured a constant
stream of settlers interested in finding new homes, but primarily concerned
about religious freedom. Through the short interval of four years came Quakers,
Mennonites, Dunkards, Pietists, and Baptists in such increasing numbers that
the year 1685 found a population of seven thousand two hundred happy, thriving
separatists. (5)

The setting up of Baptist churches in Baptist communities, the early
crusading, missionary spirit of their pastors, will be described in due course.
In order to bring the story of Baptists in.East New Jersey down to approximately
this same period, it will be necessary to sketch in a background that contains
more complications and more stimuli.

As early as the second quarter of the sane century there was a stnilar
influx of colonists into New England, but under very different conditions.
Whereas the Jerseys in the fourth quarter offered liberty under the Proprietors
and Quaker influences, inviting "separatists" to their shores, Massachusetts
under direct patent grants from James I. and his son, Charles I., offered barren
soil indeed for separatists. Fifty years of colonial growth in.Massachusetts
found only a few Baptist churches. Some of these had compromised their earlier
fixed convictions, and the staunch and true were pitifully weak. (6) The local

) Leaming and Spicer, Grants and Concessions, p. 41, see note.
) Leaning and Spicer, op, cit., p. 46.
) Leaning and Spicer, BE. 35%., PP. 412: 505-
Mulford, History of Nen'jersey, p. 164.
) Leaming and Spicer, op, cit., pp. 412 Sq‘
) Newman, History of the Baptist Churches, p. 201.
) Dexter, As to Roger Williams, Chap. I.

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The New Jersey Baptists (Cont'd.)

authorities were non-confonnists, seeking a measure of freedom from the English
church, but were not separatists. Cotton, Hooker, Winthrop, Endicott are nmnes
in New England's seventeenth century life suggestive of the colonial theoeracy
there.

This definite desire to ranain a part of the Anglican.body and yet
not in sympathy with it, this caution on the part of the church-state order
in New England, may be accounted for in several ways. Out of England during
the reign of Charles 1., the protectorate of the swashbuckling puritan Cromwell,
and the reign of Charles 11., with his avowals of revenge, came group after
group. Dependent on the mother country in many ways, and governed by agents sent
them by the crown, the state early adopted an attitude of amelioration.

The suspicions of this church—state theocracy were directed against
all Anabaptists and Antipedobaptists. In early Massachusetts the word Baptist
had the power to suggest the "Munster Kingdom”, and the authorities were over
fearful of a repetition of a religious war with the horrors of Munster. (7)
This attitude was to be found in Virginia in the middle of this same first
century of colonization, for in Virginia as well as in Massachusetts religion
was a social factor.

The first important step in freeing religion from the tradition of
overhead authority was the protest of Roger'Williams against the influence of
Massachusetts officials over the church. (8) Puritanism was only a half stop
from a state controlled religion to the independence of separatism. Feeling
this, Williams led in the establishment of the first free colony in America
on land purchased from the Indians of the Narragansett Bay area. There was
nothing to prevent hhn and his followers, convinced of the correctness of
Baptist views, from organizing a Baptist church. It is true that the restless
researching mind of the man led him farther into the frontier of religious ex—
periment; but the Baptist church at Providence continued to stand out as an
asylum to the persecuted in Massachusetts and in Connecticut.

John Clarke, who obtained the charter for these Narragansett Bay set-
tlements in 1663, was the organizer and pastor of the Baptist Church in Newport,
an.early settlement in this Rhode Island group. They, John and Roger, were a
great pzir, but their greatness was most impressive in their self denials. (9)

Connection with the English church that New England communities seem-
ed to regard so necessary was not endorsed by all coming to her shores. In
Rhode Island a grmlp of strong and determined Baptists held their influence and
grew throughout this difficult century. The colony became a haven for all Anti-
Pedobaptists suffering from.Massachusetts persecutions. From its crusading
Baptist ministers traveled into Long Island, locating a church in the present
OYster Bay area. Others visited Dutch settlements in New Amsterdam and organ»

1 izod with surprising success.

It is fitting that this early Baptist pastor, Roger'Williams, be used
to turn our Baptist history back to East Jersey scenes. This'Williams, whom we
have credited with having founded the first government of civil and religious
freedom in America, was of'Welsh origin. In Wales, perhaps because of its iso-

(7) Nemnan, op. cit., pp. 50—52.
(8) Mead, Frank 8., Ten Decisive Battles of Christianity, pp. 92-96.
(9) Rewe, History of Religion in the United States, pp. 32-36.

n
1
I

The New Jersey Baptists (Cont'd.)‘

lation, the right to worship as conscience dictated was enjoyed to a greater
extent than in England. The desire for continued unrestricted worship was
brought to East Jersey by early'Welsh Baptists who were beginning to feel the
effoctsof the Act of Uniformity of 1662.

During the period of Penn's promotion of freedom for settlers in Penn-
sylvania and West Jersey, East Jersey under proprietary grants and concessions
was opening a haven not only ts those welsh, but to the persecuted in.Mass-
achusetts and Connecticut. Non-conformists of Antipedobaptist leanings in New
England, together with separatist groups in England, Ireland and the German states
found New Jersey's Atlantic coast most inviting. -

So many Baptists found their way into the Raritan Bay area, that one
is justified in calling Monmouth County a Baptist county in 1700. In the Middle-
town area (10) an nnpressive Baptist community, made up of nmnigrants from Rhode
Island and Long Island, was in existence as early as 1665. They enjoyed their
anticipated freedom from the beginning. In an early list of instructions from
the proprietors to Governor Basso we find, "you do not consent to a law for
nnposing...any Tax... for the maintenance of any sort of Preachers..." (11)
Even as early as 1672, Sir George Carteret formally agreed that among certain
privileges to hiddletown and Shrowsbury, "No Clergyman shall be imposed upon
them". (12)

The Middletown church originally covered a wide area. The earliest Bap:
tist church south of Rhode Island, it was organized as early as 1668. (15) As
with many early colonial communities, services were held in homes of members for
a number of years before a house of worship was built and dedicated. The major—
ity of the members settled in or near old Baptistown. Among the earliest to
locate here with the Bray family. Later moving farther west into Hunterdon
County they named their new settlement Baptistown. This caused the colonists in
Monmouth to adopt the nwne of Holmdel, memorializing the Massachusetts martyr,
Obadiah Holmes, Sr., the father of three sons who so prominently figured in Jer-
sey and Pennsylvania Baptist history. (14) James Ashton, the first pastor, lived
west of Hohndol, which was made the center of the wide church community. Here
also were built the first and second churches and parsonages. The church at
Holmdel was known as "The Upper Meeting House" , and the one at Middletown as
"The Lower Meeting House". From this Hohndel center, radiating from both the
upper and lower congregations, early Baptist pastors went into many parts of
Jersey laying the foundations of Baptist churches. From the ocean to the Dela-
ware, to far south of Trenton, they covered a vast territory. Middletown was
the ancestross of nearly all the Baptist churches in Kunterdon,'Warren and Sus-
sex counties. Through Cohansev First Hopewell and Hightstown she becmne the

l”
fountainhead of Baptists in north, central and south Jersey. (15)
It will not prove too great a digression at this point to introduce the
Organization of the first Baptist stronghold in western Pennsylvania. This will
gth us a picture of Baptist beginnings in both East and West Jersey9

See first map in series.

Lemning and Spiccr, op. cit., P. 220-

Leaming and Spicer, SE. 335., p. 50o

In 1872 Pastor Stout—EhaHEEd the date of the organization of the church in
the minutes of the Trenton Association from 1668 to 1688. The investiga-

tions of Morgan Edwards, 1722-1795, and others strengthen the early date.
Griffiths, op. cit., p. 18.

Griffiths, 3E. 'é‘i'ﬁ‘” p. 90.

(10
(11
(12
(13

vvvv

31 14>
vv

vii

The New Jersey Baptist (Cont'd.)

since West Jersey felt the barrier of the line of cleavage produced in early
days by the quintipartite deed separating the provinces. (16) no the influence
of Middletown was felt throughout the eastern province, so the Pennepek Church
influenced the west and south of Jersey.

The first Baptist church to be organized in the Quaker area west of
the Delaware river was located at Cold Spring, Bucks County, Pennsylvania,
about 1684. Its pastor was Thomas Dungan, an Irish Baptist minister who had
been for some time a member of the Newport church. (17) The mother of all
Baptist churches in Pennsylvania and many in the provinces of West Jersey is
the Baptist church organized at Pennepek, or Lower Dublin, in 1688. On the
Pennepek River several Baptist families from.Radnorshire, Wales, together with
an Irish and an English Baptist, set up a worship center that early became the
focal point of the historic and influential Philadelphia Baptist Association.

Organized in 1707, this Philadelphia Baptist Association solidified
an extended Baptist influence in the American colonies. The congregations of
five churches, three in New Jersey, one in Delaware, (18) and the Pennepek
Church united in annual meetings. The most capable members of each church in
the group were sent to these meetings to consult about such things as were
wanting in the churches. It is to the credit of our early New Jersey Baptists
that they cooperated so enthusiastically with the missionary spirit of the
association, often setting the pace.

Another Jersey church represented in the organization of this Phila-
delphia association was at Piscataway. About 1689 a group settled in East
Jersey, just inland from Raritan Bay and somewhat northwest of the Middletown—
Homdel area. With the assistance of Rev. Thomas Killingsworth, these new—
comers organized a Baptist church at once, with Rev. John Drake as the first
pastor. To their church and community they gave the name of the former home
of earlier forebears in New England. Records of this church and its early
history were destroyed during the Revolution, but its early crusading mis-
sionary spirit was felt in the Philadelphia association.

The third Jersey Baptist church in the first organization of the
Philadelphia Association was on the Cohansey river in the southern part of the
state. In 1687 Ba tists from the Tipperary section of Ireland settled in this
community. Two years later, Obadiah Holmes, Jr., and John Cornelius came from
Rhode Island, and Thomas Killingsworth arrived from England. With a few others
’who had been baptized by Rev. Elias Koach, they formed the Cohansey church in
1691. Rev. Thomas Killingsworth was the first pastor, serving here with great
devotion to the cause until his death in 1708. He was greatly assisted by
Obadiah Holmes, Jr., son of the distinguished Massachusetts Baptist martyr.
Mr. Holmes was a minister and also judge of common pleas in Salem court. (19)
A scholarly and devout citizen, he rendered great service among West Jersey
Baptists. The presence of such men as Keach, Killingsworth, Holmes, and
Morgan in the earliest denominational affairs explains much of the success of

(16) Leaming and Spicer, op. cit., p. 61.
(17) Newman, 2p. cit., p. 201.
(18) The Welsh Tract Church, originating in Wales in 1701, settled in the

Ponnepek area, but in 1703 received a large grant of land on the Delaware,
"~ now in the state of Delaware. '3
(19) NHL, Archives First “crib vol. 11, pp. 296, 4.86.

viii

The New Jersey Baptists (Cont'd).

these first churches in steering a safe course through the dangers of such
questions as absolute predestination, laying on of hands, psahn singing and
Sabbatarianism. (20)

Outside of the Jerseys and the Pennepek area, Protestant churches
were slow to appreciate the value of wide denominational unity. The very na-
ture of the impulse creating the separatist movement stood in the way. The
free spirit that moved in the hearts of those early Baptists bespoke caution.
The experiment in colonial synods of Congregational churches in New England
had lead to nothing permanent. It was nearly fifty years after the Philadel~
phia Association was organized that Baptists in South Carolina developed an
associational plan, and ten years more before New England Baptists tried a dc-
sultory four church group. In the few years following its inception the Phil-
adelphia Baptist Association, with its vigorous churches, acquired the hegemony
of American Baptists, a dignity it still maintains. Their heritage of freedom
made it easy.for these early New Jersey Baptists to fix the characteristics
that have always discriminated Baptists everywhere since New Testament days.

Mutuality: Congregational government, often criticized by Pedo-
baptists, has—proven a source of strength. Divisions and heresies have been
localized, and until solved and settled have not affected the progress of
sister churches elsewhere. In its practice this very mutuality has instanced
the shoulder to shoulder cooperation of all churches holding the same distinct—
ive faith. It has demanded unquestionable ovangelicalism, economy that is con-
gregational, and heartiest fellowship with Baptist faith and practice. This
general good, in preference to personal preferment, is illustrated in the foundir
of the Philadelphia Baptist Association, with one church each in Pennsylvania
and Delaware, and three in New Jersey.

Early missionary spirit: Long journeys were taken south and west,
churches consenting to long absences of pastors for the common good. The in-
terests of the Philadelphia Association extended from southern Connecticut
to Georgia. The New York Association, organized in 1791, presents a stnilar
Jersey Baptist contribution to the missionary program. In this association,
the majority of the members were New Jersey Baptist churches, and when the East
New Jersey churches withdrew in 1841 to form their own association, the New
York Association soon thereafter collapsed.

Comprehension of educational needs: In 1722 a training school was or-
ganized by the Philadelphia Association. The first Baptist school in America
worthy to be called such, was founded at Hopewell. It was in 1715 that the
Baptist community around Hopewell organized a church. This body was under the
care of visiting ministers from Middletown, Piseutaway, Cohansey and Philadel-
phia, until 1748, when Rev. Isaac Eaton became its pastor. Hopewell Academy
was established during his pastorate. The first president of Rhode Island
College, now Brown University, was prepared for college there, and it is quite
probable that the early plans for Brown University originated in the Hopewell
Baptist membership. (21)

_ James Manning, the son of Isaac Manning of Scotch Plains, was bapt-
ized by Rev. Benjamin.Miller in 1758. Prepared for college at Hopewell under
REV. Isaac Eaton, he entered Princeton University, then called the College of

(20) From 1701-1705 there was a Seventh-Day Baptist Church at Piscataway.
($1) Benedict, David, History of Baptist Denomination in America.

The New Jersey Baptists (Cont'd.)

New Jersey. Graduating in 1762, he was selected by the Philadelphia Association
to begin a campaign leading to the founding of a grammar school at Warren, Rhode
Island. Already ordained to the Baptist ministry, he bermne the first pastor of
a new church there in 1764. A year later a charter was granted by the assembly
of the province authorizing the establishment of the College of Rhode Island.
Mr. Manning was made president of the college and professor of languages. In
1770 the college was moved to Providence and President Manning was also called
to the pastorate of the historic Baptist church there. New Jersey had provided
a great Baptist pastor for Roger Williams' church, and a great president for a
Baptist College.

At this point it will be of interest to Baptists to observe the growth
of churches in their denomination frmn the organization of the first three cen-
ters to the end of the eighteenth century.

As early as 1641 English colonists from Connecticut had settled at
Salemtown, one of the oldest settlements in New Jersey. In 1683 Obadiah Holmes,
Jr., came to Salem. Pastors from Cohansey began.missionary work and Salem was
one of the first out—stations of this church. In all probability Judge Holmes
lived in Salem. This would make this church contemporary with the early
Cohansey organization. The formal organization of Salem as recognized by the
“hiladelphia Association carries the date 1741. 'Within the sane century seven
colonies went out from the Salem church. (22) The church at Alleway (Mill
Hollow) was closely connected with Salem's early history.

_ Although the Cape May church was organized in 1712, its foundation
was laid more than thirty years earlier by the settlement of a few members who
met at various homes. These groups were visited by various missionary minded
ministers of East Jersey and of the Pennepek area. Rev. l"Tathaniel Jenkins, a
native of Wales,‘was the first regularly installed pastor. It is of interest
'to note that the Cape May church is the first Baptist church to recognize wives
and daughters as equally entitled tn be enrolled as constituents of a gospel
church. (25)

Burlington was a center of Baptist activity from the earliest years.
Yearly meetings of the Philadelphia Association were held here and probably a
Baptist church was in existence quite early. The present church at Burlington
was formed in 1801. The missionary work of pastors of Pennepek, Philadelphia,
and Cohansey organizations in the association led to the formation of Dividing
Creek in 1749, Pemberton in 1764, Pittsgrove and Tuckahee in 1771.

Returning to a survey of the Hiddletown.field, we find Hopewell Bapa
tist church set up a colony of'the Hiddletown church in 1715. Grouped with
those in the-organization were several former members of the Pennepek church.
Johnathan Stout was the founder. The earliest Jersey Baptist church, Middle-
town has been the mother of more than one hundred churches. They were planted
not only in New Jersey, but in Pennsylvania, llow York and in the southern
Colonies. .Warren, Sussex, and Hunterdon counties were planted with out—stations
of Middletown. Many of these grow into independent churches during the century.

From Middletown through Hopewell the Baptists at Kingwood organized a
church in 1742. The foundation of this organization was laid twenty years

(:32) Griffiths, op. cit., Chap. 11.
(23) Idem., ChapT‘iee‘rr. '

The New Jersey Baptists (Cont'dQ

earlier by Baptist families who had moved into this West Jersey community from
the Hopew011 and Middletown - Holmdel areas. Rev. Thomas Curtis was the first
pastor of the new church. Kingwood was preeminently a missionary church. New
Baptistown, Kingwood is best known as the mother of the Mt, Olive, Knollton,
and Fleuington churches in the eighteenth century, and of Bethlehem and French-

town later.

Known as the Cranbury Baptist Church until 1786, Hightstown was
organized in 1745. This church is also a daughter of old Middletown. Through
the growth of nearly tWO full centuries two things stand out in the history of
Hightstown Baptists. Through their support and interest Pcddie Institute was
established. Of large contribution to the New Jersey Baptist cause, she con—
tributed more than any other church to the associational organization of the
denomination in the state.

An outstanding colony from the Piscataway Baptists is the church at
Scotch Plains, organized in 1747. At that time the few independent Baptist
churches in New Jersey were widely separated. A glance at the accompanying map
shows the key positions occupied by'Middletown, Piscataway, Cohansey, Cape May,
Hopewell, Kingwcod, lightstown. To this active, missionary group Scotch Plains
was welcomed. A number of families in the Scotch Plains area had been identified
with Piscataway for generation, or longer. Distance and difficulty of travel
brought about the separation. Immediately uniting with the Philadelphia As-
sociation, they called Rev. Benjamin.Miller to their pastorate. He served with
signal success for thirty—four years.

Atﬂﬁsthwtkwewmsm)mgHM‘&mﬁmsdmmhinﬁmvhwkcﬁy.
Several Baptist famili€s were encouraged to unite with Scotch Plains and ﬂights-
town, and were visited by the pastors of these churches. In 1762 their first
church edifice was erected on Gold Street. Their first pastor was Rev. John
Gano, a menber of the Scotch Plains Baptist group. He served this New York
congregation wisely and well for twenty—six years.

The Scotch Plains church colonized fruitfully. Out of it came Morris-
town in 1752, Mt. Bethel in 1767, Lyon’s Farms in 1769. (24) Manahawkin in 1770.
Samptown in 1792, and numerous others in the next century. It is interesting to
note that Morristown was settled by David Goble and family, who came from Charl-
eston, S.C., in 1715. As in so many early Baptist communities, preaching ser—
vices were held in his hmnc for many years prior to the establishment of the
church cited above.

Interesting history lies behind several churches organized in the
eighteenth century. Some of tlwse represent independent organizations not
growing out of the missionary endeavor of the three early mother churches.
Schooley’s Mountain was settled in 1755 by Samuel Keaton and his three sons.
This fanily came from Wrentham, Massachusetts, to develop iron works on the
mountain, They established a Baptist church that same year, calling it Rocks-
bury church from 1753 to 1768, the nane of the township in which the meeting
house was built. From 1768 to 1890 the churchuras known as Schooley’s Mountain
Baptist church. Mt. Olive was also founded by Mr. Heston and has maintained an
unbroken record since 1753. It is a matter of record, however, that such inde-
Pendent organizations were loyally sponsored by the early associational struct-
uro, and in numerous instances were materially assisted in their financial
Problens.

(24) The mother of the first Baptist church in Newark.

The New Jersey Baptists (Cont'd.)

Thus far we have devoted space only to the three great mother churches
of New Jersey Baptists in the eighteenth century, together with their outstand—
ing colonies. In so brief a sketch of New Jersey Baptist history it is clearly
unpossible to set up each out-station of these early missionary churches. For
detailed accounts the reader is referred to the attached bibliography.

Before leaving this picture of the eighteenth century Baptists in New
Jersey examination should be had into certain problems that the pastors and
constituents faced and so happ