The number of ministers in connection with our
church at the time of the union of the two Synods, was not far from one hundred.
Among these were some of the most distinguished men who have ever adorned our
annals. The two Tennent’s, Richard Treat, Francis Alison, Alexander McDowell,
John Pierson, David Bostwick, Samuel Davies, Samuel Finley, John Roan, Matthew
Wilson, John Miller, John Blair, Elihu Spencer, George Duffield, Robert Smith,
John Rodgers, and others equally prominent, either for learning or piety, were
then in the vigor of their days. To these were added, in succeeding years, men
no less distinguished for talents or usefulness. In 1759 Mr. John Ewing took his
seat as a member of Synod. This gentleman was pastor of the First Presbyterian
Church in Philadelphia, and Provost of the University of Pennsylvania. “In all
the branches of science usually taught in seminaries of learning, more
particularly in mathematics, astronomy, and every branch of natural philosophy;
in the Latin, Greek, and Hebrew languages; and in logic, metaphysics, and moral
philosophy, he was probably one of the most accurate and profound scholars which
this country can boast of having reared.” In 1760 we find the names of James
Latta, Alexander McWhorter, and William Kirkpatrick. The first mentioned is the
ancestor of the family which has furnished so many ministers to our church. The
second was long the excellent pastor of the church in Newark, New Jersey; and
the third, a member of the Presbytery of New Brunswick, was distinguished for
his piety and usefulness. In 1761 John Strain became a member of the Synod, and
is still remembered as one of the most eloquent and impressive ministers our
church has ever produced. In 1763 we find the name of James Waddell, who was to
the Virginia church, in point of eloquence, what Patrick Henry was to the
Virginia bar. In 1765 the Presbytery of Hanover reported the ordination of David
Rice, a man of distinguished usefulness in the southern church. In 1766 the
names of Robert Cooper and Samuel Blair were reported. The former was a
prominent and pious member of the Presbytery of Donegal, and the latter, a son
of the Rev. Samuel Blair, so distinguished for his piety and usefulness at an
earlier period of our history. At the age of twenty‑eight or thirty years,
he was elected president of Princeton College, though he declined the
appointment, and soon sank into a state of health which made the residue of his
life a protracted disease. In 1769 John McCreary and Joseph Smith were added to
the roll. Both of these were distinguished men. The latter, preeminent for piety
and energy, was one of the fathers of our church in Western Pennsylvania. The
same year, the Rev. Dr. Witherspoon, who had already obtained in Scotland a high
reputation as the able advocate of evangelical doctrine, was received as a
member of the Synod and entered upon that course of active usefulness in the
service of his adopted church and country, which has rendered his name so
conspicuous in our civil and ecclesiastical history. The same year Dr. Sproat
was received from the Association of New Haven county, Connecticut, having been
called to take charge of the Second Presbyterian church in Philadelphia. In 1771
the name of John Woodhull, so long the faithful pastor of the church in
Freehold, New Jersey, first occurs on the records. This enumeration would become
tedious if further continued. It may, therefore, be briefly stated that the
names of Robert Davidson in 1774, of James Power and John McMillan, apostles of
the West, and of John McKnight in 1777, of Thaddeus Dodd and James Armstrong in
1778, of Samuel Stanhope Smith in 1779, of James Hall in 1782, of Moses Hon in
1786, occur for the first time on the minutes. To the preceding list there are
doubtless many names which ought to be added, whose omission is to be attributed
to the writer’s limited means of information. In 1787 the Rev. Dr. Nesbit, the
learned president of Dickinson college, was received as a member of Synod; and
in the same year the venerable Dr. Green first took his seat in our highest
judicatory, in whose counsels for a long succession of years be has been so
eminently influential. The whole number of accessions to the Synod during this
period of thirty years, was considerably more than two hundred. The deaths and
removals reported to the Synod were about one hundred; in many cases, however,
the decease of members is not recorded in the synodical minutes.
The
Synod was soon called to weep over the graves of some of its most distinguished
members. In 1760 the death of “that pious, zealous saint of God,”1
the Rev. George Gillespie, is recorded. He died at an advanced age, having been
received by the Presbytery of Philadelphia, as a licentiate of the Presbytery of
Glasgow, in 1712. In 1761 the Synod heard of the decease of the eloquent,
devoted, and accomplished Davies, at the early age of thirty-six. “Heu quam
exiguum vitae curriculum! Corpore fuit eximio; gestu liberali, placido, augusto.
Ingenii nitore, morum integritate, munificentia, facilitate inter paucos
illustris. Rei literariae peritus; theologus promptus, perspicax. In rostris,
per eloquium blandum, mellitum, vehemens simul, et perstringens, nulli secundus.
Scriptor ornatus, sublimis, disertus. Praesertim vero pietate, ardente in Deum
zelo et religione spectandus.”2 In 1766, Davies was followed to
the grave by Dr. Samuel Finley, his scarcely less distinguished successor in the
presidency of Princeton College. The preceding year the Synod were informed that
the Rev. Gilbert Tennent had closed his long, laborious, and eminently
successful ministry. In 1768, the death of the Rev. Adam Boyd was reported. He
was ordained by the Presbytery of New Castle, in 1724, and was an indefatigable
and faithful pastor of the church of Octarara, and of two neighboring
congregations. From this time the older members of the Synod disappear in rapid
succession. In 1771, there were seven deaths reported, including that of the
excellent Mr. Pierson; in 1772, four, including that of Mr. John Blair; in 1776,
Mr. John Roan; in 1777, Mr. William Tennent; in 1779, Dr. Richard Treat, of
Abington; in 1780, Dr. Francis Alison; so that but few of the original members
of this Synod were now remaining.
_______________________________________________________________________
1
This language is used in reference to Mr. Gillespie by Dr. Francis Alison in his
sermon delivered before the Synod in 1758.
2 The inscription on the tomb of Davies.
______________________________________________________________________
The following
history of this Synod, from the design of this work, and from the nature of the
materials at the command of the writer, must be in a great measure purely
ecclesiastical. That is, it must be in a good degree confined to a
classification of the acts of the Synod, with a view to exhibit its character as
an ecclesiastical body. Such a classification, though it may not be without its
use, cannot be expected to possess the interest which belongs to the history of
revivals or of polemical discussions.
With
a field so extensive as that embraced within the bounds of the Synod of New York
and Philadelphia, and which was rapidly filling up with inhabitants, the burden
of missionary labor which devolved upon that body was very heavy. In 1759
Messrs. Kirkpatrick, McWhorter, Latta, and Lewis were sent to Virginia, to act
under the direction of the Presbytery of Hanover. Mr. John Brainerd, then the
pastor of the church of Newark, applied to the Synod for advice, whether he
should leave his pastoral charge and devote himself anew to the service of the
Indians. The Synod unanimously advised him to remove, and promised him the
interest of the Indian fund in the hands of the trustees of the college of New
Jersey, which was at the disposal of the Synod. Messrs. McKnight, Beatty, and
Latta also were directed to visit the Indians in the course of the summer. In
1760 Messrs. Duffield and Mills were sent to Virginia, and a general collection
for the support of the Indian mission was ordered to be taken up. With the view
of explaining the necessity for this collection, the Synod state that in
consequence of the application of certain pious ministers, the society in
Scotland for propagating Christian knowledge had made an annual grant, which was
appropriated, first to David Brainerd, and afterwards to his brother John, who
had continued to labor among the Indians for seven or eight years. In
consequence of the war, he had relinquished his mission and settled in Newark;
but when the province of New Jersey, having reserved 4,000 acres of land for the
Indians, requested him, by its governor, to resume his mission, he had upon the
advice of the Synod given up his comfortable settlement and recommenced his
missionary labors. His support, and that of the Indian school, therefore, now
rested on the Synod, who called on all the churches to make a collection and to
send the proceeds to Mr. Jonathan Sergeant, near Princeton. President Davies was
also directed to write to the society in Scotland and request them to renew
their grant.
In
1761 an overture was made by Mr. Kirkpatrick to send a missionary to the Oneida
Indians, the importance of which the Synod acknowledged; but as no one could
then be found to undertake the service, and as the necessary funds were not at
command, the overture was declined. The Synod renewed their promises to support
Mr. Brainerd, and ordered a new collection for that purpose. Numerous
applications were, the same year, presented for missionaries to North Carolina.
In
1762 a new order was made respecting the Indian mission, the money to be paid to
the Rev. Mr. Ewing, in Philadelphia, or to Mr. Jonathan Sergeant, Princeton.
Messrs. Enoch Green and William Tennent, Jun., were directed to serve each six
months under the direction of the Presbytery of Hanover.
In
1763 a new general collection was ordered for the Indian mission, and thirty
pounds appropriated to the support of the schoolmaster. Mr. Occam, the
missionary among the Oneida Indians, in the service of the British society, was
taken under the care of the Synod, and sixty-five pounds appropriated to his
use. The same year a request was presented from the corporation of the Widows’
Fund, that some missionaries might be sent to the frontier settlements, to
ascertain where new congregations were forming, and what could be done to
promote the spread of the gospel among them and the neighboring Indians. The
board, which held in trust a fund received from the general assembly in
Scotland, for propagating the gospel in this country, offered to pay the
necessary expenses of the proposed mission. In consequence of this application,
the Synod appointed Messrs. Beatty and Brainerd to go to the West and to report
to the board the result of their researches. Mr. Green was appointed to act as a
missionary within the bounds of the Presbyteries of Lewes and New Castle, and
Mr. William Tennent and Jacob Ker within those of Hanover. A committee was also
appointed to confer with the corporation of the Widows’ Fund, with regard to a
plan for missionary operations.
It
appears from the minutes for 1764 that the mission of Messrs. Beatty and
Brainerd to the frontiers was frustrated by the breaking out of the Indian war.
A new collection was ordered for the support of Mr. Brainerd, and the interest
of the fund in the hands of the trustees of New Jersey college was appropriated
to his use. The same year, the Synod, considering the state of many
congregations in the South, particularly in North Carolina, and the great
importance of having those congregations properly organized, appointed the Rev.
Elihu Spencer and Alexander McWhorter as their missionaries for that purpose,
that they might form societies, help them to adjust their bounds, ordain elders,
administer sealing ordinances, instruct the people in discipline, and finally
direct them in their conduct, particularly in what manner they should proceed to
obtain the stated ministry. They were further directed to assure the people that
the Synod had their interests much at heart and would send them candidates and
supplies to the utmost of their power. This was just such a mission as that on
which Timothy and Titus were sent, that they might “set in order the things
that were wanting, and ordain elders in every city.” It would have been
perfectly consistent with our system had Messrs. Spencer and McWhorter been
authorized to ordain preaching as well as ruling presbyters, had there been any
probability of finding suitable candidates for the sacred office.
In
1765 Messrs. Nathan Ker, George Duffield, William Ramsay, David Caldwell, James
Latta, and Robert McMurdie, were appointed to labor each six months in North
Carolina. A collection was again ordered for the Indian mission.
In
1766 it was ordered that every member of the Synod should take subscriptions, or
make collections, in his congregation and in the neighboring vacancies, to raise
a fund for the propagation of the gospel among the destitute. It was also
resolved to sustain the school under Mr. Brainerd. The Synod appointed Messrs.
Lewis, Caldwell, Chesnut, and Bay to perform missionary duty at the South, and
authorized Mr. C. T. Smith to itinerate in the same quarter. Messrs. Beatty and
Duffield were appointed missionaries to the frontiers, and directed to report to
the corporation of the Widows’ Fund.
In
1767 a report was made of the result of the collections of the preceding year,
for sending the gospel to the poor, when it was found that only £112 had been
received. The Synod expressed their great sorrow that so many of their members
had paid so little regard to the authority of Synod enjoining a liberality for
so pious and important a purpose. The Presbytery of New York brought in an
overture on the subject of missions, which was amended and adopted. This
overture provided that there should be an annual collection taken up in every
congregation, that every Presbytery should appoint a treasurer to receive and
transmit the moneys thus obtained, that the Synod should appoint a general
treasurer to whom all these presbyterial collections should be sent, and that
every year a full account of all receipts and disbursements should be printed
and sent down among the churches. Mr. Richard Treat was appointed the synodical
treasurer under this plan. Thirty pounds were appropriated to the support of Mr.
Brainerd’s school, and twenty as an addition to his salary. A committee
appointed to confer with the corporation of the Widows’ Fund, reported
“that, agreeably to an act of the General Assembly of the church of Scotland,
passed in the year _____, the money raised by collections in the several
congregations of that church shall be disposed of by the charitable corporation,
in conjunction with a committee of the united Synod of New York and
Philadelphia, for the support and relief of such ministers as are, or shall
hereafter be called to preach the everlasting gospel among the benighted
Indians, or to such congregations as cannot afford them maintenance.” The
committee added, they had not been able to ascertain the sum which was at the
joint disposal of the corporation and the Synod; another committee was,
therefore, appointed to ascertain the sum and to assist in its appropriation. A
petition was presented from eight congregations in North Carolina that Mr.
Spencer, Lewis, McWhorter, or James Caldwell, might be sent to settle among
them, offering to contribute £160 to the support of either of them. These
gentlemen, however, all declined the invitation. Petitions for supplies were at
the same time received from twenty-one places in Virginia, North and South Carolina,
and Georgia. The Synod appointed Messrs. Bay, Potter, Alexander, McCreary, James
Latta, Jun., Anderson, and Jackson, to visit those congregations and spend at
least six months each in their service. Messrs. Beatty and Duffield reported
that they visited the frontiers, agreeably to the directions of the last Synod,
and found a great number of people exceedingly desirous of being formed into
congregations, and ready to do all that they could to support the gospel, though
they were in very distressing circumstances, in consequence of the calamities of
the late war. They also visited the Indians upon the Muskingum, a hundred and
thirty miles beyond Fort Pitt, whom they found anxious to receive religious
instruction. The Synod appointed Messrs. Brainerd and Cooper to visit the
frontiers, and to spend three months among the Indians above-mentioned. The same
year Dr. Rodgers was sent on a mission of six weeks to Albany and the
neighboring places.
In
1768 Messrs. Brainerd and Cooper reported that, in consequence of the
discouraging accounts brought by the Indian interpreter, they had not performed
the mission assigned them by the last Synod. The usual appropriations were made
for Mr. Brainerd’s mission; a committee consisting of Dr. Alison, Messrs.
Reed, Treat, Ewing, W. Tennent, Rodgers, Brainerd, McWhorter, Caldwell, Dr.
Williamson, Charles Thomson, and the moderator, John Blair, was appointed to
meet at Elizabethtown to prepare a general plan for propagating the gospel among
the Indians. The committee appointed to confer with the corporation of the
Widows’ Fund, respecting the money in their hands received from Scotland, and
subject to the disposition of the synod, reported that they proposed several
questions to the Board and had received the following answer: “That it is the
sense of this Board, that though a corporate body may not, in the management of
its affairs, legally associate with others not in membership, yet in regard to
the limitation of the General Assembly of the church of Scotland, we judge it
our duty to consult with the committee, and mutually to propose and agree with
one another in the uses to which the money is to be applied; provided always,
that if the Synod do not appoint a committee, or if that committee do not attend
upon the corporation, it shall not be hindered to proceed to business”; and
“that the interest of seven hundred pounds sterling is to be disposed of
yearly for the time to come, if there be occasion for it, with the advice and
consent of the Synod.” These answers were not deemed satisfactory, as they did
not state what sum had been received from the General Assembly, nor what use the
Board had made of it since it came into their hands. Objection was also taken to
the claim of the Board of a right to dispose of the money without the
concurrence of the Synod, in case of a failure in the appointment of a
committee. The Synod, therefore, appointed another committee to endeavor to get
this matter cleared up. Renewed supplications for supplies were presented from
the frontiers of Pennsylvania, from Virginia, North and South Carolina; and the
Synod appointed Messrs. Bay, Tate, Anderson, Jackson, and McCreary, for
missionary service in these several places.
In
1769 the usual appropriations were made for Mr. Brainerd. Messrs. John Harris,
John Clark, Jeremiah Halsey, James Latta, Jonathan Elmore, Thomas Lewis, Josiah
Lewis, H. J. Balch, and James Anderson were appointed as missionaries to the
South. Dr. Alison, Messrs. Treat, Ewing, and Sproat were appointed a committee
to examine the credentials and to grant certificates to any licentiates or
ministers from New England who might offer themselves as missionaries to the
southern provinces. The synod engaged to pay their missionaries at the rate of
thirty shillings for every sabbath they preached. The Presbytery of New York was
directed to supply the poor vacancies on the frontiers of New Jersey and New
York ten sabbaths, and the Presbytery of Donegal those in Pennsylvania ten
sabbaths.
In
1770 numerous applications for supplies were presented from Virginia and
Carolina, and Messrs. Lewis, Roe, Close, and McCreary were appointed to labor
in those provinces. Mr. Patrick Alison was sent to Virginia, and Mr. Nathan
Niles, a licentiate from Massachusetts, was directed to labor during the summer
on the western frontiers of New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, and to spend
the winter in Carolina. The Synod agreed to grant the Presbyteries of New York
and Donegal each fifteen pounds towards the payment of supplies for the
frontiers.
In
1771 the usual appropriations were made for the support of Mr. Brainerd’s
mission. Messrs. James Finley, Samson Smith, Schenck, Alexander Miller,
Eliphalet Ball, Elam Potter, Joseph Potter, and John McCreary were appointed as
missionaries to the South and West. Fifteen pounds were again appropriated to
each of the Presbyteries of New York and Donegal for supplies. The committee of
conference with the corporation of the widows’ fund reported that they had
made a settlement with the Board, which the Synod subsequently sanctioned. The
corporation agreed to pay the Synod annually thirty pounds, to be appropriated
to the aid of poor ministers, or to the erection of churches, or the payment of
missionaries within the Provinces of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Maryland. In
consideration of this annual sum, the Synod agreed to acquiesce in and approve
of such application of the money entrusted by the Scotch church for the use of
the widows’ fund, and all such other pious uses as have hitherto been made of
it by the corporation. The Synod agreed never to break in upon the capital
whence the said thirty pounds were to arise by way of interest; but, if found
necessary, the Board were to have the right to use the capital in whole or in
part. This, however, was not to be done unless the annuities due from the
corporation could not otherwise be paid. The synod was to receive the interest
of the remaining portion of the fund at the rate of five per centum, should the
corporation at any time find it necessary to use a part of the capital. It was
finally agreed that this arrangement should put an end to all debates between
the Synod and the Board in reference to this matter. It does not appear that the
Synod ever succeeded in finding out the sum originally received from Scotland or
the uses to which it had hitherto been applied. In this minute the Board say
they considered the fund as equal to £600, which, as nothing is said to the
contrary, probably means pounds currency; whereas three years before the sum was
£700 sterling. It is evident the corporation considered themselves as having
the legal disposal of the money, and, as the Synod acquiesced in their measures,
it is to be presumed that this was acknowledged on their part. The funds of the
corporation were so much injured by the depreciation of money during the
Revolutionary War that in 1782 the Synod agreed to remit this fund to them to be
applied to the ends of their institution.
In
1772 a new general collection was ordered, and it was directed that the moneys
thus raised should be appropriated for the support of missionaries, the purchase
and distribution of useful books, and the promotion of the gospel among the
Indians. A committee was appointed in New York and Philadelphia to procure books
and distribute them to the several Presbyteries. The books to be purchased were
Bibles, Westminster Confession of Faith, Vincent’s Catechism, Doddridge’s Rise
and Progress of Religion, Alleine’s Alarm, A Compassionate
Address to the Christian World, Watts’ Divine Songs, and the
Assembly’s Catechism. A pastoral letter was addressed to the churches, urging
the importance of the ends to be answered by the proposed collection upon their
attention. Missionary appointments were, as usual, made for the South and West.
In
1773 it was reported that Mr. Brainerd’s school was discontinued the preceding
year for want of a teacher, and forty-three pounds were appropriated towards his
support. Twenty pounds were assigned to each of the committees in Philadelphia
and New York for the purchase of books, and the Presbytery of New York were
allowed to appropriate fifty pounds of the money collected within their bounds
towards rebuilding the Presbyterian Church in the Island of Saba. The Presbytery
of New Castle were appointed to send certain missionaries to the South, whose
credentials were to be signed by the moderator of the Synod.
In
1774 the usual appropriations were made for Mr. Brainerd. Dr. Rodgers, Mr.
McWhorter, and Mr. Caldwell were appointed to visit the northern part of New
York, for the purpose of preaching and organizing congregations. Urgent
applications for supplies were received from Pennsylvania, Virginia, and North
Carolina. A representation was also presented to the Synod from the Rev. Dr.
Ezra Stiles and the Rev. Samuel Hopkins, respecting a mission to Africa, which
brought up the subject of slavery. A committee was appointed to prepare an
overture on these subjects and report to the Synod. The first part of the report
of this committee was adopted as follows: “The Synod is very happy to have an
opportunity to express their readiness to concur with and assist in a mission to
the African tribes, and especially where so many circumstances concur, as in the
present case, to intimate that it is the will of God, and to encourage us to
hope for success. We assure the gentlemen aforesaid, we are ready to do all that
is proper for us in our station for their encouragement and assistance.” The
part of the report which related to slavery was deferred to the next meeting of
the Synod. As nothing is said of the African mission after this, it is presumed
that the war, which commenced the following year, prevented the plan’s being
carried into effect. Seven missionaries were sent to the South and West, and the
several Presbyteries were urged to render what further assistance they could.
In
1775 Messrs. Brooks, Debow, Keith, Hunter, and Phithian were appointed as
missionaries to the South and West, and Messrs. Lewis and Ker to Albany,
Charlotte, and Tryon counties, in the Province of New York. Mr. Miller was
directed to supply every fifth Sabbath until the next Synod, in the vacancies in
the neighborhood of Schenectady.
In
1776 Messrs. McGill, White, and Carmichael were appointed missionaries to the
western part of Pennsylvania, and the Presbyteries of New Castle and
Philadelphia were urged to send missionaries to the South. Nothing is said of
the mission under Mr. Brainerd for several years, except the annual order that
he should be paid the interest of the £300 belonging to the Synod in the hands
of the trustees of the College of New Jersey.
In
1777 a society of Highland Scots at Southerland presented a petition to the
Synod requesting a supply of books, and that the Rev. Mr. McFarquhar might be
appointed to preach and administer gospel ordinances among them. And the Synod
ordered a collection of books to be made for them, and appointed Mr. McFarquhar
to supply them for some time.
In
1778 there was a very thinly attended meeting of the Synod at Bedminster,
Somerset County, New Jersey. The minutes contain no record in relation to
missions.
In
1779 Dr. Witherspoon, the treasurer of the Synod, reported that he had received
the legacy left by the Rev. Diodati Johnson of Connecticut for the aid of
missions to the southern colonies. From a subsequent minute, it appears that the
money received was £287 pounds and a fraction. A member of the Presbytery of
Hanover requested that “some missionaries might be sent to the State of
Virginia to preach the gospel, and especially that a few ministers of genius,
prudence, and address, might spend some considerable time in attempting to form
the people into regular congregations under the discipline and government of the
Presbyterian Church, and to settle among them, and undertake the education of
youth; representing, there appears at present, in many parts of that state, a
very favorable disposition towards religion in general, and towards the
Presbyterian Church in particular; that it is greatly for the interest of the
church to pay particular attention to the southern and western parts of this
continent; that congregations which may be formed there will be permanent and
fixed, whereas the continual migration of the inhabitants in our interior
congregations diminishes their importance and threatens their dissolution; that
it is not desirable nor to be expected that that extensive country should
continue long without some form of religion; that this Synod has now an
opportunity of promoting the interests of religion extensively, which in a few
years may be utterly lost by the prevalence and preoccupancy of many ignorant
and irregular sectaries.” The Synod, in consequence of this representation,
earnestly recommended it to all their Presbyteries to turn their attention to
this subject as peculiarly interesting and important.
During the years 1780, ’81, and ’82, the Synod was able to do but little in the service of missions. In 1783 it was ordered that every member of the Synod “shall use his utmost influence in the congregation under his inspection, and in the vacancies contiguous to it, to raise contributions for the purchase of Bibles for distribution among the poor, and that Dr’s. Ewing and Sprout, and Mr. Duffield, be a committee to receive such contributions, to purchase Bibles, and to send them to the several members of the Synod, who, in conjunction with their respective sessions, shall distribute them.” This subject was afterwards repeatedly urged upon the attention of the churches.
