Proceedings of the New Jersey Historical Society

Proceedings of the New Jersey Historical Society

A Magazine of History, Biography and Notes On Families

New Series

Volume IX--1924

New Jersey Historical Society
16 West Park Street
Newark, N. J.

Contributed by Keith R. Sagers

ZION, ST. PAUL AND OTHER EARLY LUTHERAN CHURCHES IN CENTRAL NEW JERSEY

BY THE LATE DR. JOHN C. HONEYMAN, NEW GERMANTOWN, N. J.

[About a score of years ago the author of the following early history of the development of Lutheranism in Somerset and Hunterdon counties, N. J., completed a MSS. work of about 600 pages, the full title to which is stated to be "History of the Zion Lutheran Church at New Germantown, New Jersey, including that of the Lutheran Churches Generally in the Valley of the Raritan and in Particular that of St. Paul's Lutheran Church at Pluckemin, N. J., from 1715 to 1900." As Dr. Honeyman died in 1916, while in Virginia, it was never published. The full MSS. is now in possession of the New Jersey Historical Society. Zion Lutheran Church was established at New Germantown (now Oldwick) in Hunterdon county in 1748. The older church, St. Paul's which, with Zion, was long "collegiate" (i.e., the two were united under the same ministry), was established in 1756 at Pluckemin, in Bedminster township, Somerset County. Other churches referred to as of between about 1715 and 1756 were "on the Raritan Hills," than more often styled "on the Mountains," about 1 1/2 miles N.E. of Pluckemin; at Millstone, but probably with no church edifice and referring rather to a "congregation" in that vicinity; at Lesly's land (near White House); at Rockaway (Potterstown) and at Fosselberg (Fox Hill). While some history of the Raritan Hills church has been published (see "Somerset Co. Historical Quarterly," Vol. II, pp. 87, 161), that of the other churches and especially of the most important one--Zion, the only one still in existence, which has been vigorous for 176 years--has not been put in print.

The whole MSS. of the author down to about 1850, is too voluminous to be published herein in full, but it is expected to carry the early history to about the year 1800 (with some omissions of minor matters not historically valuable for our purpose), and it will throw much light upon Lutheranism in a part of this State as planned firmly, after the work of the earlier missionary fathers, by the renowned Rev. Dr. Heinrich (Henry) Melchior Muhlenberg; a name greatly honored in church history in this country.--EDITOR].

We will not preface our narrative with a tedious recital of the historic facts concerning the early Swedish, Dutch and German Lutheran settlements in the middle provinces of what are now the United States of America. It is sufficient for our purpose to state, in brief, (I) that there were Swedish Lutheran congregations on either side of the Delaware many years before the arrival of the colonists sent out by William Penn in 1681, and (2) that there were fully organized Dutch Lutheran congregations at Albany and New York several decennaries before the coming of Rev. Joshua Kocherthal to Newburgh with a colony of Palatines in 1709.

(Proceedings of the New Jersey Historical Society, Vol. IX.
(NJ Historical Society, Newark, NJ : 1924), p. 255.)

"Filiale" are affiliated or dependent congregations--outlying stations; outlying preaching-places. The congregations of Bedminster and German Valley (then perhaps more usually called "Budd's Valley," or the "Long Valley," or simply "the Valley,") are meant. Neither of them had a house of worship of its own, and for occasional services they were dependent on Zion's minister. The Valley Lutherans had formerly worshipped on Fox Hill, but they were now an outlying part of Zion's congregation. Twenty years afterward, or in 1774, their officers subscribed a documentary agreement beginning with these words: "Whereas we, the members of the Evangelical Lutheran congregation, who, by reason of the preachers we have with Germantown, and by reason of the money expended for the church and parsonage-house, are members of Zion's Lutheran church living in the Dutch Valley, Roxbury township, Morris county," etc. But to continue Muhlenberg:

"In the winter of 1753 a great disturbance was raised in this congregation, while Mr. Weygand was still there. Mr. Weygand was called immediately afterward to New York, and the congregation was left vacant. I was requested, partly by the congregation and partly by my colleagues in office, to make a journey thither in the summer, and through the favor of God I brought the separated members again so far together that they unanimously called fro Mr. Schrenk."

The second item is, that in the first year of Mr. Shrenk's stay, namely in the month of August, 1754, the church-council came to the resolution to repair the parsonage-barn, and for that purpose the following moneys were subscribed. [The names are given as they are spelled in the record-book]:

Adam Fueckroth, 10s.; Balthas Bickel, Sen., £1; Lorentz Rulofson, £1; Jacob Schubmann, £1; Casparus Hindersheitt, 10s.; Johannes Molich, Sr., £1; David Molich, 10s.; Johannes Molich, Jun., 8s.; Samuel Bernhardt, 10s.; Matthias Van Horne, 10s.; Hermanus Rulofson, 10s.; Leonhardt Streit, 15s.; Michael Buskercken, 5s.; Jacob Fasbinder, 10s.; John Hindersheitt, 10s.; Leonhard Nachbahr, 10s.; John Stein, 10s.; Chrisoph Kern, 5s.; Matthias Sohnemann, 8s., 8d.; Christoph Durrenberger, 5s.; Samuel Schwachheimer, 10s.; Thomas Neil, 10s.; Rulof Rulofson, 7s.; Philipp Weiss, 10s.; Jost Schertz promised 15s. and has paid thereon 8s., 8d.; Georg Alberts, 4s.; Michael Ellick, 6s.; Anthon Molick, 10s.; Isaac Van Boskerken, 6s.; Gothfried Klein, 10s.; George Dippel, 14s." [The whole amounted to £16. 2s, 4d].

Next comes a list of delinquents with this statement:

The following have indeed written down their names, but they have not as yet paid up to this 12th January, 1756: Philipp Fueckrot, 8s.; Philipp Tuffort, 4s.; Lorentz Slicar, 8s.; Valentine Caspar (?), 3s.; Johannes Schertz has paid 10s.; Jost Schertz has yet to pay 6s. 4d.; Jacob Klein, 5s.; Abraham Schertz has paid 10s.; Balthes Bickel, Jun., 7s.; the whole amounting to £3. 14s. 4d."

Out of the above £16. 2s. 4d. were paid £3, interest on the bond Mr. Pickel held; £4. 7s. to the carpenters for work, and sundry sums to Leonard Streit, B. Pickel, Roelof Roelofson and Jacob Fasbinder for shingles; also to Matthias Van Horne for three trees, 4 shillings. The receipts of the church for the year preceeding March 11, 1755, were, including the barn collection, £32. 15s. 6d. The expenditures for the same period were £33. 4s. 11d., of which amount the carpents on the barn were paid in all £11, Mr. Pickel for interest, £9. 16s., one "Loghan" for quit rent of glebe, £1, 3s. 9d., Herman Roelofson for wine at communion, 6s., the surveyor, Edward Wilmot, for running out the church land, 15s. and L. Streit, R. Roelofson, B. Pickel, one Bendeler and J. Fasbender for shingles, £9. 3s. 2d. These names and items are mentioned for a two-fold reason: (1) We learn therefrom who were among the principal members of the church during the Schrenk pastorate, and (2) because the old book in which they are contained is practically undecipherable to the most of those who would like to consult it.

Emphasis added. (Proceedings of the New Jersey Historical Society, Vol. IX.
(NJ Historical Society, Newark, NJ : 1924), pp. 380-381.)

I cannot precisely define the boundaries of this church-land, but they included, besides the grave-yard mentioned, the present front yard and part of the mansion-house of John S. Miller, a three-cornered lot to the north of these, the Benjamin Van Doren lots and all southward, on the west side of main street, as far up, at least, as to the Mrs. Dickerson lot.

The Deed of Conveyance--or rather instrument of perpetual Lease--to the trustees, was written by the conveyor or lessor (Smith) himself, on a heavy piece of sheep-parchment over two feet in breadth, the characters being traced with ink that has preserved its sooty blackness to this day and promises to remain distinctly visible as long as documents are of any avail. Such a woful speller however was Squire Ralph Smith, that but one of the twelve trustees' names was correctly written by him in this important paper, and some of them are inexcusably, even ludicrously misspelled. It must be remembered, however, that precision in the spelling of family names was disregarded in Colonial times even by their possessors. Here is a list of the Trustees of that time, after a slightly better orthography than Squire Smith's: Balthes, or Balthasar, Pickel, Johannes Moelich, Philip Weiss, Caspar Hendershot, Lourens Roelofsen, Samuel Barnhardt, David Moelich, Jacob Klein, Adam Fueckeroth, Jacob Schubmann, George Schwartz and Joseph Hernboeker. Mr. Pickel signs his name on this parchment lease "Balthes bickel," and in the same month signs his name to the Weygand Call "Baltes Pieckel."

Emphasis added. (Proceedings of the New Jersey Historical Society, Vol. IX.
(NJ Historical Society, Newark, NJ : 1924), p. 407.)