One Great Hour of Sharing and FPC Matawan (1949 - 2014)

     Since 1949 Presbyterians have joined with millions of other Christians through One Great Hour of Sharing to share God’s love with our neighbors-in-need around the world. Your generous gifts to this Special Offering help provide relief those affected by natural disasters, provide food to the hungry, and assist in helping to empower the poor and oppressed.

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     The 15 Oct 1953 edition of The Matawan Journal (pg 3 col 2) reported on an upcoming stewardship event at the First Presbyterian Church of Matawan, where the guest speaker would be the Reverend Arthur S. Joice, national secretary of special offerings for the Presbyterian Church USA. Among his duties was running the One Great Hour of Sharing program.

     The Red Bank Register showed a Rev. Arthur S Joice as pastor of the Shrewsbury Presbyterian Church early in 1953 and again in 1954. As this was presumably the same man, perhaps the Reverend was working locally and also handling work for the national church, which was based out of New York City in those days? Why the article doesn't mention his work at Shrewsbury is unclear.

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     The Rev. Arthur S. Joice, of the Department of Stewardship of the Presbyterian Church, New York, will be guest speaker Monday, Oct. 19 at a special Planned Education dinner at 6:45 in the lecture room of the Matawan Presbyterian Church.

     According to Charles C. Schock, Sr., Edgemere Drive, Matawan, chairman of the committee of the local church, the dinner will acquaint members of the congregation with an Inspirational "Christian Action" Program for 1954.

     Mr. Schock announced that the Rev. Joice will discuss the significance of increased stewardship and the value of year-round programming. The guest speaker is secretary of Special Offerings for the General Council, Department of Stewardship of the Presbyterian Church. He is also Secretary of the Directorate of the Building Fund Campaign and is in charge of the One Great Hour of Sharing. The Rev. Joice is a graduate of Syracuse University and Yale Divinity School.

     "This dinner will be a major event in the life of the Matawan Presbyterian Church," Mr. Schock declared. "We believe that the Planned Education Program can be one of the most stimulating things that ever happened to a church in Matawan."

     George Ritter, Broad St., Matawan, will serve as toastmaster. Various phases of the church's program for 1954 will be presented and discussed by'the Rev. Chester A. Galloway, pastor; Walter Swanson, Edgemere Dr., Matawan; and Milton F. Stevenson, Broad St., Matawan.

History: Reverend Michael R Miller (1974-1985)

Michael R Miller was born 26 Feb 1935 in East Liverpool, Ohio and died 2 Mar 1997 in Riverton, NJ. Rev Miller's tenure at the First Presbyterian Church of Matawan (1974 - 1985) began with great promise and proceeded with considerable church growth, but it ended in his arrest and eventual conviction for sexual abuse against church youth. It was the most painful chapter in the church's history.

As a young child, Rev Miller lived in Pittsburgh, where his father studied at Western Theological Seminary. (Sources: 1940 Federal Census; Independent, pg 3, 18 Jun 1980; Rudolph Miller's obituary, the Genealogy Pit Stop Blog, 14 Jul 2009.)

According to the 1940 Federal Census for Ohio, Michael R Miller, age 5, born in Ohio, was living at 1115 Vine Street, East Liverpool, Ohio, in the household of his parents, M Rudolph and Miriam Miller. Living in the household were a younger brother, Stephen K Miller, age 1, born in Pennsylvania, and a 17-year-old maid named Grace Serafy. Rudolph and Miriam were each 36 years old and born in Pennsylvania to Austrian fathers and Pennsylvanian mothers.  Rudolph's occupation was listed as minister. Rudolph had 5 years of college and his wife had 2 years of college.

Rev Miler's father, Rudolph Miller, served as minister at Trinity Presbyterian Church in East Liverpool, Ohio from Apr 1939 until Jan 1968, with a 46-month break while he served as a chaplain in the US Army during World War II. He lived nearly 102 years. (Source: Rev Miller's father's obituary, which can be found at the Genealogy Pit Stop Blog, 14 Jul 2009.

Rev Miller spent his teenaged years living with his parents in East Liverpool, Ohio.He lived with his parents in New Jersey while his father served as Post Chaplain at Fort Hancock on Sandy Hook. He attended Yale University in Connecticut, graduating with a bachelor's degree in political science in 1956. He then attended Union Theological Seminary in New York, earning a masters of divinity in 1960. He was ordained at East Liverpool, Ohio on 8 Jun 1960. (Source: Independent, pg 3, 18 Jun 1980)

Rev Miller served as assistant minister at Brown Memorial Presbyterian Church from 1960 to 1964. He then served as pastor of the Lakeside Presbyterian Church in Rochester, New York from 1964 to 1974. (Source: Independent, pg 3, 18 Jun 1980)

"[He] found himself in the midst of a riot-torn city experiencing all the social and economic problems
of the Sixties. As pastor of a large urban congregation, he dealt with problems of busing to achieve racial balance, riots in the ghettos, anti-war demonstratilons, and confrontations with black militants." (Source: Independent, pg 3, 18 Jun 1980)

Rev Miller then answered the call to serve at First Presbyterian Church of Matawan in 1974. The church was the second-largest church in the Monmouth Presbytery with 780 parishioners. (Source: Independent, pg 3, 18 Jun 1980)

The 26 Oct 1977 edition of The Independent (pp 4, 8) carried a letter from area clergy encouraging the end of a protracted teachers strike in the local school district. (The same paper, pg 4, included a request for funds so a letter could be sent to the community explaining a committee's interest in changing the name of the township from Matawan to Aberdeen.)

Rev and Mrs Miller presented a scroll marking Rev Miller's 20th year of ministry.

The 18 Jun 1980 edition of The Independent (pg 3) covered the 8 Jun 1980 celebration of the 20th anniversaryof Rev Miller's ordination as a Presbyterian minister. The congregation gave the couple a gift of a trip to Israel.

The 29 Oct 1980 edition of The Independent (pg 8) told of the previous Sunday's festivities related to the 260th anniversary of the founding of the First Presbyterian Church of Matawan. Performances included "Leaves from a Church History Book," written and directed by Sandy Campbell, Barbara DeVilbiss, and Louise Ginesi, and "The Body of Christ," an anthem commissioned by the church specifically for the occasion and written by Eugene Butler, a prominent church music composer and seminary classmate of Reverend Miller. The anthem was dedicated to Timothy Carter Smith, a young church elder who was killed in an automobile accident three years earlier..

The Style section of the 14 Oct 1984 edition of The New York Times reported the society wedding of Martha Miller, the daughter of Rev Miller and his wife, Debbie, who was serving as an educational consultant for the Monmouth Presbytery. Rev Miller helped in the officiating at this wedding, which took place at the National Presbyterian Church in Washington, DC.

Charges of sexual abuse were leveled against Rev Miller and he resigned in 1985.

The 27 Aug 1986 edition of The Independent (pg 23) reported that former Presbyterian minister Michael Miller had pleaded guilty to sexually molesting two teenage members of the congregation and was awaiting sentencing. He faced a ten-year sentence and possible fines. The former pastor renounced the authority of the Presbytery to discipline him, according to Rev Harlan Durfee, clerk of the Presbytery of Monmouth.

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The awful legacy of the Miller ministry is that not only had there been a sexual predator in the pulpit, but the leadership had left him in the pulpit and at the head of the Session long after accusations against him had surfaced. They accepted his pleas of innocence and effectively refused to believe the charges made against him by his victims. They even launched a legal defense fund for Rev Miller and in other ways supported him while outside the church the wheels of justice persisted against him. When Rev Miller eventually pleaded guilty, it was a surprise to most. As overwhelming as the shame and betrayal were that the leadership felt, it was nothing compared to the betrayals and shame experienced by the victims. Some families left the church but the church survived with the help of the Presbytery.

The General Assembly would eventually fix the rules so that a minister under such charges would no longer be able to remain in office while sexual abuse charges were pending against him/her. The Rules of Discipline in the PCUSA Book of Order included D-10-0106 (below), which compels a Session to put their minister ("teaching elder) on administrative leave.

When a written statement of an alleged offense of sexual abuse toward any person under the age of eighteen, or who it is alleged lacked the mental capacity to consent, has been received against a teaching elder, the stated clerk receiving the allegation shall immediately communicate the allegation to the permanent judicial commission. The moderator of the permanent judicial commission shall within three days designate two members, who may be from the roster of former members of the permanent judicial commission, to determine whether the accused shall be placed on a paid administrative leave during the resolution of the matter. The cost of such shall be borne by the employing entity whenever possible or be shared by the presbytery as necessary. While administrative leave is in effect, a teaching elder may not perform any pastoral, administrative, educational, or supervisory duties, and may not officiate at any functions such as Baptism, funerals, or weddings.

Herbert B Smith, Pulpit Supply (1909)

Herbert Booth Smith served as pulpit supply at the First Presbyterian Church of Matawan circa 1909. The 8 April 1909 edition of The Matawan Journal said he had been paid $1,368.24 as of 31 Mar 1909, according to a treasurer's report on the front page of the paper. Only $90 had been paid for other supplies.

According to the 1900 Federal Census, Herbert lived with his parents and four siblings in Baltimore, MD. His father, J Addison Smith, was a preacher who was born in Jul 1856 in Texas. His parents were born in Kentucky. His mother was Eva Smith, born in Aug 1858 in Virginia. Herbert was the eldest of the four Smith children -- Herbert (Aug 1883 MO), Eva (Jul 1887 MO), Peyton (Oct 1889 MD), Rhoda (Jan 1894 MD), and Lucile (Sep 1899 MD).  They had a black servant named Bertie Sie, age 23, born in Maryland.

The 1910 Federal Census showed him lodging at a boarding house at 175 Fulton Avenue in Rochester, Monroe County, NY. He was 26 years old, single, born in Missouri to a father from Texas and a mother from Virginia. He was a clergyman at a church.

Rev Smith submitted a US passport application in Jun 1912 while living in Knoxville, TN as a clergyman. He was 5' 7" tall, clean shaven, had brown hair, hazel eyes, and a dark complexion. He was 28 years old, having been born 7 Aug 1883 in Des Peres, St Louis County, Missouri.

Rev Smith was a fraternal delegate of the Presbyterian Church to the Waldensian Synod, according to the Minutes of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the USA, 1914, pg 185. He was living in Westfield, NJ when he joined the US Navy in 1917, according to The History of Westfield, by Charles A Philhower, pg 91.

He was living in Los Angeles and working for the Synod of California in 1919, according to Minutes of the General Assembly that year. He had earned his Doctorate of Divinity degree.

The 1920 Federal Census showed Herbert Booth Smith, age 36, living at 223 South Alexandria Avenue in Los Angeles, CA as a clergyman, pastor of a church. His wife was Jean C Smith, age 38. She was born in Tennessee to a father born in Virginia and a mother in North Carolina. Their children included Herbert B Smith, Jr, age 5, born in the District of Columbia; and James C Smith, age 3, born in California. Also living with them was Jean's son from a prior marriage - J Hoyle Ragsdale, age 12, born in TN to a father born in Missouri and a mother born in Tennessee. They also had a maid servant named Helen Awadesto, age 22, born in California to a Mexican father and a Californian mother.

He nominated Charles Erdman as moderator of General Asssembly at Columbus in 1925, according to The Presbyterian Controversy: Fundmentalists, Modernists, and Moderates, by Bradley J Longfield, pg 150.

The 1930 Federal Census showed Herbert B Smith born about 1883 (47 years old) in Missouri to a father from Texas and a mother from Virginia. He was a minister at a Presbyterian church. He was head of household living at 744 South Serrano Avenue in Los Angeles, CA. He was 30 when he first married. His wife was Jeane C Smith, age 41, born in Tennessee to a father from Virginia and a mother from North Carolina. Their children in the household included Herbert B Smith, Jr, age 15, born in Washington, DC; James C Smith, age 13, born in California; and Joseph W Smith, age 5, born in California. Herbert and Jeane were married about 1912-13.

He was still living in Los Angeles when he served as Moderator of the General Assembly of the PCUSA in 1941, according to a transcript of the 22nd Annual Presbyterian Dinner held 5 Dec 1941.

The Smiths expected a visit to their home in Lima, NY from their grandson, 2nd Lieutenant Gene F Smith, according to The Lima Recorder, 27 Mar 1952 edition. He hoped to arrive in time to attend their golden anniversary celebration.  

He wrote a book on pre-retirement planning for ministers as a member of the PCUSA Board of Pensions, San Francisco Theological Seminary, 1972.

FPC History: Rev William H Dilts (1926 - 1935)

1926

William Henry "Bill" Dilts was born 11 Feb 1897 in Wernersville, PA, to Thomas Baird Dilts (1873 - 1963) and Christie (MacCallum) Dilts, according to a biography at Find-a-Grave. His date and place of birth were confirmed on his WWII draft application.

The 8 Jun 1944 edition of The Matawan Journal noted that Rev Dilts was born near Reading, PA, the son of Mr and Mrs Thomas Blair Dilts, who were living at the time in Greensburg, PA.

The 1910 Federal Census showed the household of Thomas B (36) and Christian (30) Dilts with sons William H (13) and Horace J (10) Dilts. They were living in Latrobe, PA in Westmoreland County. Thomas and Christian had been married 14 years and Christian had borne 2 children and lost none.

The 1920 Federal Census showed Thomas B (45) and Christie (41) Dilts living in Greensburg, PA in Westmoreland County with sons William H (22) and James H (20) Dilts. Thomas was an insurance agent; William a student; and James a clerk in retail supplies.

He graduated with honors from Greensburg High School and found work with the Pennsylvania Railroad. He received his BA from the College of Wooster in Wooster, OH in 1923, according to Find-a-Grave and the 8 Jun 1944 edition of The Matawan Journal..

MATAWAN, NJ (1926-1935)

Rev Dilts, still at Princeton, was called as pulpit supply for a six month term in February 1926, according to The Journal.

Rev Dilts officiated at the funeral of Anna (Messereau) Tompkins, wife of Silas P Tompkins, who died on 21 Mar 1926, according to the Happenings of Yesteryear section of the 12 Apr 1956 edition of The Brewster Standard. As the first woman to vote in Matawan, Tompkins voted for Warren G Harding as President of the United States in 1921. As a child, she dined with President Lincoln and said she heard the Lincoln-Douglas debates.

Before his interim period ended, the congregation at Matawan unanimously called him to serve as the church's pastor, according to The Journal. He cleared his examination at the summer meeting of Monmouth Presbytery, but only after a rigorous examination. Rev Frank Lukens, chair of the Presbytery's Education Committee, oversaw the examination.

The 8 Jun 1944 edition of The Matawan Journal noted that Rev Dilts was called as pulpit supply in January 1926 and began that service on 4 Feb 1926. He replaced Dr Charles H Bruce. He was unanimously called by the congregation on 13 May 1926.

Rev Dilts graduated Princeton Theological Seminary with the Class of 1926 and was subsequently ordained and installed as pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Matawan on 24 Jun 1926, according to the 25 Jun 1926 edition of The Matawan Journal (pg 1 col 4).

Details of the service and surrounding events published in The Journal:

• The ministers involved in the ceremonies were feted at the home of Henry S Terhune.
• Rev H J O Rinker, Moderator of the Presbytery of Monmouth, conducted the ordination.
• Mrs W A Close sang "Just as I Am."
• Rev J H Owens, from Red Bank, read the Scriptures.
• Rev D L Parsons, from Shrewsbury, offered the ordination prayer.
• Rev John Muyskens, pastor of the Red Bank Presbyterian Church, delivered the ordination sermon.
• Rev John Van Ness, from the Presbyterian Church at Narberth, PA, delivered the charge to the pastor.
• Rev Joseph Lyons Ewing, Synodical Superintendent of National Missions of New Jersey, delivered the charge to the people.
• Mrs Lucile Parsons played several selections on the piano during the reception afterwards.
• Mrs W H Diggin chaired the refreshments committee.

Rev Dilts was to preach at the union service at the Baptist church at 8 pm Sunday evening, according to the 16 Jul 1926 edition of The Matawan Journal. He also officiated at the funeral of Margaret (Dunn) Scoby, widow of Spencer Scoby, which was held at Rose Hill Cemetery.

Rev Dilts traded pulpits for the week with Rev W Wylie Young of the Second Presbyterian Church in Cranbury, according to the 25 Jan 1929 edition of The Matawan Journal (pg 5 col 2).

Rev Dilts married Anne Gertrude McCulloch (1904 - 2006), of Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada on 5 Sep 1929 in Truro, where her parents had started the local church, according to Find-a-Grave.

Mrs Dilts returned on 20 Feb 1920 from a one-month visit to her old home in Canada, according to the 21 Feb 1930 edition of The Matawan Journal.

The Rev and Mrs Dilts were living in Matawan for the 1930 Federal Census. William H Dilts was 33 and Ann M Dilts was 25. William was a Presbyterian minister. William's brother James had moved to Chagrin Falls, OH in Cuyahoga County and had a wife and three children, one named for their father, Thomas B Dilts.

Rev Dilts' daughter Joan Christine was born 29 Aug 1930 during his tenure at the Presbyterian church in Matawan, according to her father's Find-a-Grave website. Joan graduated with a MA degree from Harvard University's School of Education and went on to teach American history in Attleboro, MA beginning in the fall of 1953, according to the 26 Nov 1953 edition of The Livingston Leader.

Mrs Dilts and daughter Joan were baptized Tuesday by the moderator of the General Assembly, the Rev Hugh Thompson Kerr, of Pittsburgh, at the Old Tennent Church, according to the 17 Apr 1931 edition of The Matawan Journal.

Rev and Mrs Dilts were planning a year of study leave at Edinburgh University in Scotland, according to the 26 Jun 1931 issue of The Matawan Journal, as recounted in the 6 Jul 1961 edition of the same newspaper. His leave would begin 1 Sep 1931, at which time the church would use pulpit supply.

Rev Dilts did a year's graduate work overseas at New College, Edinburgh University, Scotland and Marburg, Germany, according to the 26 Nov 1953 edition of The Livingston Leader. He and his wife traveled to Palestine and around Europe during the year sabbatical.

Rev Dilts did a reading of Tennyson's narrative poem Enoch Arden before the South Amboy Women's Club, according to the 21 Sep 1934 edition of The South Amboy Citizen (pg 1, col 3).

Rev Dilts was to be guest preacher on 28 Oct 1934 at Memorial Presbyterian Church in Brooklyn, NY, according to the 27 Oct 1934 edition of The Brooklyn Daily Eagle (pg 6).

Rev Dilts served as Moderator of Monmouth Presbytery, according to the 26 Nov 1953 edition of The Livingston Leader. The 8 Jun 1944 edition of The Matawan Journal said he was moderator in 1933 and also served as commissioner to General Assembly.The 17 Apr 1931 edition of the same newspaper said Rev Dilts had been serving as moderator of Monmouth Presbytery for the past six months.

Rev Dilts did post-graduate work at Union Theological Seminary and Columbia University, , according to the 26 Nov 1953 edition of The Livingston Leader.

The 8 Jun 1944 edition of The Matawan Journal noted that Rev Dilts resignedon 17 Sep 1935 to accept a call to Westminster Presbyterian Church in West Chester, PA.

WEST CHESTER, PA (1935 - 1944)

Rev Dilts accepted a call to serve the Presbyterian church at West Chester, PA, which was twice the size of the Matawan church he was leaving, according to the 8 Aug 1935 edition of The Red Bank Register.

After Matawan, Rev Dilts served Presbyterian churches in West Chester, PA; Newark, NJ; Geneseo, NY; and Holley, NY, according to Find-a-Grave.

Rev Dilts served as Moderator of Chester Presbytery, according to the 26 Nov 1953 edition of The Livingston Leader. The 8 Jun 1944 edition of The Matawan Journal said that he served Chester Presbytery as its moderator in 1942 and as its chair of Christian education. He also chaired the Chester Chester schools' committee on weekly religious instruction.

Rev Dilts registered for the World War II draft in 1942. He and his wife were living at 339 West Union Street, West Chester, PA. He listed his employer as Westminster Presbyterian Church, Church & Barnard Streets, West Chester. 

Rev Dilts' brother, James Horace Dilts, was killed in World War II, according to Find-a-Grave.

NEWARK, NJ (1944 - 1953)

Rev Dilts accepted a call to serve at the South Park Presbyterian Church, 1035 Broad Street, Newark, NJ, according to the 8 Jun 1944 edition of The Matawan Journal. He expected to begin his work in Newark in mid-September 1944. He would replace C Ransom Comfort, Jr as pastor.

Rev Dilts served at the South Park Presbyterian Church in Newark, NJ from about 1944 until 1953, according to the 26 Nov 1953 edition of The Livingston Register. He served as permanent clerk of Newark Presbytery. He was President of the Forest Hill Literary Society of Newark.

Mrs Sarah B Stillwell of Matawan left a quarter of her estate to Rev Dilts, who was living in Maplewood at the time, according to the 20 Jan 1949 edition of The Red Bank Register (pg 2 col 3). Half of her estate was used to establish a trust called the Daniel Schenck and Elizabeth Webster fund at First Presbyterian Church of Matawan. The 7 Jun 1945 edition of The Matawan Journal noted that Miss Sarah B Stillwell and Mrs Edwin H Dominick visited the Dilts in Maplewood.

GENESEO, NY (1953 - 1965)

1953

Rev Dilts arrived in Geneseo, NY in early November 1953 and would be installed as pastor of the Central Presbyterian Church there on 1 Dec 1953, according to the 26 Nov 1953 edition of The Livingston County Leader. In the meantime, he would deliver the ecumenical Thanksgiving sermon in Geneseo. He had recently left the South Park Presbyterian Church of Newark, NJ, which he'd served for 9 years, to accept the call to Geneseo.

The installation service would have the following participants:

• Rev Stanley Gutelius, of Rochester, would ask the ordination questions on behalf of the Presbytery of Rochester.
• Dr Arthur J Adams, of Central Church, Rochester, would preach the sermon.
• Rev W Wylie Young, of Batavia, would deliver the charge to the pastor.
• Rev Joseph Surter, of Bergen, former pastor of Central Presbyterian at Geneseo.
• Rev Valentine S Alison, of Lima, would read the scripture.
• Rev W Edward Stokesberry, of Avon, would deliver the installation prayer.

Rev Dilts, while serving as pastor of the Geneseo Central Presbyterian Church, told the local newspaper about the Christmas eve fire that had consumed his first church at Matawan, according to the 3 Feb 1956 edition of The Livingston County Leader.

Rev Dilts sent a telegram on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the Glenwood Mission Band of the First Presbyterian Church of Matawan, according to the 14 Jan 1960 edition of The Matawan Journal. The organization had been associated with United Presbyterian Women (UPW) for the past five years. The Glenwood Circle narrated the event.

HOLLEY, NY (1965 - 1972)

Rev Dilts announced his resignation as pastor of the Geneseo Central Presbyterian Church and his intention to begin serving at the Presbyterian Church in Holley, NY beginning 3 Oct 1965, according to the 8 Sep 1965 edition of The Livingston County Leader (pg 1 col 2). He had served at Geneseo since 8 Nov 1953.

Rev Dilts retired in 1972 and moved to Truro with his wife, according to Find-a-Grave. They are buried together at Robie Street Cemetery in Truro.

FPC History: Rev Dr William C Alexander (1889 - 1893)

William C Alexander

Reverend Dr William C Alexander was minister at the First Presbyterian Church of Matawan from 23 Apr 1889 to 1893.

Through his 2 January 1892 sermon, Rev Alexander stirred the congregation to support a $6,000 capital campaign to renovate the Main Street church. Not unlike the recent Nike sneaker ad, the Reverend told the congregation, "The best way to do anything is to do it."

Presbyterians Pioneer At Matawan describes the results of the campaign thusly, "Alterations included new, semi-circular pews, mullioned windows of cathedral glass, and [a] new organ. . . . New pew cushions were bought and a beautiful carpet of terra cotta. Agra covered the floor." Crystal chandeliers from France, pulpit lights, and a choir rail with plush curtain were all donated by members and groups. Finally, a new tower designed by the noted American architect Stanford White was added to the church.   

Note: With the help of fundraising by the church's women and from the proceeds of the capital campaign, the church was able to acquire a new $2,000 organ.  It was placed behind the pulpit, which required some internal alterations. A blind member of the congregation operated the pump for this manual instrument from a small room behind a partition.  The church sold the old organ to the Point Pleasant Presbyterian Church.

Rev Alexander subsequently served at Georgetown Presbyterian Church in Washington, DC from 1893 to 1908. He was replaced at Matawan in Jan 1894 by the Reverend Dr Alexander H Young.

The 1900 Federal Census for Washington, DC showed William C Alexander was born in September 1850 in Pennsylvania to parents born in PA. His occupation was listed as clergyman. His residence was on Newark Street. His wife of 24 years was Mary R Alexander, born in October 1850 in New Jersey to a NJ father and a PA mother. Their three children were living with them: Lewis R Alexander (Aug 1877), Elizabeth J Alexander (Feb 1880), and William C Alexander, Jr (Dec 1885). Also living with them was a black servant named Henrietta E Briggs born in Dec 1882 in Georgia.

The 1880 Federal Census for Pennsylvania showed William Alexander, age 29, born in Pennsylvania to parents born in PA living in Salisbury in Lancaster County. His occupation was minister. His wife was Mary C Alexander, age 29, born in New Jersey to a NJ father and a PA mother. Their son Lewis R appeared as Reese, age 2, born in PA, and daughter Elizabeth J appeared as Bessie, age 2 months, specified as February 1880. (Note: I could not find an online history of Presbyterian churches in the Salisbury area, but the current Salisbury Presbyterian Church was founded in the 1960's. Perhaps Rev. Alexander labored at the Pequea Presbyterian Church in nearby Gap, PA?) 


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    Pequea Church

The 1860 Federal Census for Pennsylvania showed a William C Alexander at age 10 living in Derry, Mifflin County with John Alexander (age 62) and his wife Jane (age 58).

FPC History: Reverend Charles H Bruce (1912 - 1925)

Dr Charles H Bruce was called to FPC Matawan on 20 September 1912 to replace the Rev Edwin I Stearns, who had resigned that year to become superintendent of the Anti-Saloon League of New Jersey in Newark. Dr Bruce was installed 1 November 1912 at age 49 and served until he retired at age 63 on 30 July 1925. He moved to Sharon, Pennsylvania, where he died at age 70 on 27 July 1933.

During Dr Bruce's tenure, the church received 189 new members and baptized 91, and the manse was "altered and redecorated," according to Presbyterians Pioneer at Matawan, p. 44. For some reason, his annual salary remained $1,500 throughout his years of service at FPC Matawan.

According to the 1850 Federal Census, Dr Bruce's father was a 45 year old farmer named Abraham Bruce living in Moon, Beaver County, Pennsylvania. He had $3,500 worth of property. His wife was Christina (44) and their children were Emma (13), Hannah (11), Maria (9), William (6), George (4), and Abraham (2). 

According to the 1860 Federal Census, Dr Bruce was a 7 year old living on a farm in the village of New Sheffield in Moon, Beaver County, Pennsylvania in the household of the widowed 53 year old Christina Bruce. He was the youngest of six children, his elder siblings being Emma (23), Hannah (21), William (17), George (14), and Abram (11).

According to the 1870 Federal Census, Dr Bruce was an 18 year old living on a farm in Moon, Beaver County, Pennsylvania in the household of 64 year old Clara Bruce. His siblings in the household included Emma (33), William (25), George (23), and Amanda (10). The farm was worth $9,800 and their personal property $1,000.

According to the 1880 Federal Census, Dr Bruce was a 27 year old seminary student living in the Village of Sheffield in Hopewell, Beaver County, Pennsylvania with the 74 year old widow Christianna Bruce and a sibling Abraham, a 31 year old dentist.

Dr Bruce does not appear in what remains of the 1890 Federal Census, which was mostly destroyed by fire.

Presbyterian Issues: The General Assembly of 1892 shows that Dr Bruce served as a commissioner to that assembly, which was held in Portland, Oregon in May. He represented the Synod of Missouri from the Presbytery of Kansas City and reported an address of No 3, 208 East Twelfth Street in Kansas City. The case of Dr Briggs and Revisionism was a major issue at the time. Dr Bruce was on the Standing Committee for Publication and Sabbath School Work.

According to The Descendants of Francis Graves of Gloucester County and Essex County, Virginia, Dr Bruce married Elizabeth Smith Graves on 14 June 1893. She was born 7 July 1870 to David William Graves and his wife Julia Ann Crockett. Elizabeth's father, David Graves, was a Baptist minister, and her maternal grandfather was a Cumberland Presbyterian minister.

The Presbyterian Ministerial Directory, Vol I, 1898 ,  ed by Edgar Sutton Robinson, reports that Charles H Bruce was a minister of the Presbyterian Church USA (Northern). He was born in New Sheffield, Pennsylvania; earned his Bachelor of Arts in 1879 from Allegheny College in Pennsylvania; studied at Western Theological Seminary at Allegheny, Pennsylvania from 1879 - 1881; was licensed by the Presbytery of Erie in 1880; was ordained by the Presbytery of Council Bluffs on 18 October 1882; served as pastor in home ministry at Menlo, Iowa from 1881 - 1885, then as pastor at Union City, Pennsylvania from 1885 - 1887, Fifth Church in Kansas City, Missouri from 1887 - 1897, and currently was pastor elect of the Presbyterian church in Muncy, Pennsylvania since 9 July 1897. He received his doctorate of divinity in 1895. [BRUCE, Charles H, Muncy, Pa - Born New Sheffield, Pa.; Ag. C., Pa, BA, 1879, DD, '95; Stud. Wn. T. S., Pa., '79-81; Lic. Apr 14, '80, Pby of Erie; Ord. Oct. 18, '82, Pby. of Council Bluffs; P. Menlo, Ia., HM, '81-85; P. Union City, Pa., '85-87; P. Fifth Ch., Kansas City, Mo., '87-97; PE, Muncy, Pa., July 9, '87 - . ]

According to the 1900 Federal Census, Dr Bruce was a 46 year old preacher living on Washington Street in Muncy, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania. The census provides his birth as being in July 1853. His 29 year old wife Elizabeth was born in July 1870 in Missouri to a father from Virginia and a mother from Missouri. Dr Bruce and his wife had been married seven years. Three children were living in the household: Laura (May 1887), Mildred (Sep 1894), and Margaret (Aug 1896). The census suggests that Elizabeth had had three children and all were surviving, but the eldest child in the household was not hers. Laura's mother was born in Pennsylvania.

According to the 1910 Federal Census, Dr Bruce was a 57 year old  working for the Presbyterian church and living in Aberdeen, Brown County, South Dakota. He and his wife Elizabeth (39) had been married 17 years, this being his second marriage and her first. Elizabeth was born in Missouri to a father born in Virginia and a mother from Kentucky. Four children were living with Dr Bruce and his wife in 1910: Laura (22), Mildred (15), Margaret (13), and Charles Jr (9). Given her age, Laura was a product of Dr Bruce's first marriage. This census suggests Laura's mother was a Missouri native, while the previous census said her mother was born in Pennsylvania. The census says Elizabeth had had five children, but only four had survived. Theoretically, this could mean that Elizabeth lost two children, as one of the four remaining children was not her natural child.

Dr Bruce of Aberdeen, SD, visited the Chicago office of the Women's Foreign Missionary Society of the Presbyterian Church in 1910 at Room 48, 328 Wabash Avenue, according to Woman's Work, Vol 25, p 238.

According to the 1920 Federal Census, Dr Bruce was a 62 year old Presbyterian clergyman living in Matawan, Monmouth County, New Jersey. He and his parents were all Pennsylvanians by birth. His wife was Elizabeth, age 49, born in Missouri to a father from Virginia and a mother from Missouri. The Bruces had three children living with them in 1920: Daughters Mildred, age 25, and Margaret, 23, were both born in Missouri and working as public school teachers.  Their son Charles H Bruce, Jr was age 19, born in Pennsylvania, and not employed. They resided at 230 Main Street in Matawan. Their neighbors at 234 Main Street were 55 year old Baptist clergyman William N Ludwig and his wife Sadie. The Ludwigs were both New York natives; his parents were both from Germany.

Dr Bruce represented the Presbytery of Monmouth to the 100th Annual Session of the Synod of New Jersey at the First Presbyterian Church of Atlantic City, New Jersey 16 - 18 October 1922, according to the minutes of that meeting.

According to the 1930 Federal Census for Pennsylvania, Dr Bruce was a 77 year old retiree living with his wife Elizabeth and son Charles Jr at 234 Daugherty Avenue in Sharon, Mercer County, Pennsylvania. The son was a 28 year old dentist at the time. This census says that Dr Bruce was first married about 1883, while his marriage to Elizabeth occurred about 1894.

FPC History: Phillips Academy (1839 - 1842)

The second Mount Pleasant Church served our congregation from 1798 to late 1839 or early 1840. While technically a Matawan church, it was located outside of the city center on New Brunswick Avenue (Route 516) near its intersection with Main Street. Rumblings to erect a more centrally located edifice in downtown Matawan had by 1836 developed  into a petition for subscribers. But money was tight and the subscription plan went nowhere. A cash-strapped congregation couldn't even pay the salary of the Reverend Joseph L Shafer, who resigned in 1838 and sued for recompense.

Not long after the Reverend Charles Webster was installed on 6 November 1838, the church's chimney malfunctioned and the sanctuary filled with smoke one particular Sunday that winter. Tradition tells us that the situation was exacerbated by the green firewood that had been used to fuel the fire to heat the church for worship. Services were canceled that day.

By the next Sunday, worship had been relocated to the recently constructed Middletown Point Academy, operated by Philetus Phillips at the corner of Church and Jackson Streets. The congregation would meet at the "Phillips Academy's" more favorable location for nearly two more years. Soon a nationally-known private school, the Academy would have many names, including the Collegiate Institute of Middletown Point (1857), the Glenwood Institute (1874, pictured above), and the Matawan Military Academy (early 1900s). The growth of public schools forced the academy to close in 1915.

Webster's congregation continued to grow, exceeding the available space, so the Reverend encouraged a movement to build a new church along Main Street. A great effort would be required, so one Sunday his sermon topic was "For the people had a mind to work." This sparked the women to hold a fair and raise several hundred dollars. The men tried the then-current fad of sericulture, which involved growing mulberry trees and silkworms to produce silk, but the project failed. The rest of the necessary funds were raised the more traditional way through subscriptions and pledges.

The old church building was sold to meet part of the obligation to Rev. Shafer. Simon Arrowsmith bought the building at sheriff's sale and moved it to his farm, which was located where the Buttonwood Manor currently sits. It first served as a warehouse building associated with the farm's dock near the head of Matawan Creek. It later became a barn and was eventually razed. Robert Little paid the balance of the debt to Rev. Shafer -- $60.

In March 1841, a half-acre of property at 216 Main Street was acquired for the new church building from Elizabeth and Eleanor Covenhoven at a cost of $650. The deed (Monmouth Deeds, C-4, p. 86) described the property as having been designated Lot 14 on a map made by Leonard Walling. The cornerstone of the new church was laid on 17 July 1841, and the new building was dedicated on 6 January 1842. Rev. Webster would serve here for eleven years.

FPC History: Two Manses (1955-1959)

According to Presbyterians Pioneer at Matawan, the church's manse on Main Street gradually became the church's operational headquarters after the Christmas 1955 fire:

The guest room was stripped of its former fittings and set up as a temporary office. The pastor's secretary was established there amid piles of equipment. A telephone and buzzer system connected with the minister's first floor office and the kitchen of the Manse.


The dining room table was used by the financial secretary during the week and by the Church School officers on Sunday.


The flow of traffic through the Manse was so heavy that by common consent, the doorbell was never used. People simply came in and called out to announce their presence.


... On February 18th, 1959, the Rev Mr Galloway and his family moved into a new Manse, the beautiful Koopman homestead overlooking Lake Lefferts, the gift of two members of the church, Mrs Helen Terhune Schock and Miss J Mabel Brown. The house was built in 1950.

FPC History: 1900 - 1903 Revisionism

At Perrineville on 25 September 1900, the Presbytery of Monmouth's Committee on Revision recommended in favor of revising the Westminster Catechism, according to The New York Times. But the membership voted down the motion, 16 to 38. Turning Points in American Presbyterian History says the General Assembly had received 34 overtures that summer from presbyteries seeking revision, so the GA had appointed a study group that included former US President Benjamin Harrison and sitting US Supreme Court Justice John Harlan to look into the matter. It would be three more years before this battle between Union and Princeton, launched in 1891 by Charles A Briggs (pictured left) of Union Theological Seminary, would result in a modification of Westminster that took the focus away from the tenet of predestination and added support for ecumenism. Presumably FPC Matawan and Monmouth Presbytery took these revisions in stride.

FPC History: Reverend John M Rogers (1850 - 1867)

John M Rogers was installed as pastor of FPC Matawan in February 1850. Reverend Rogers served our church for eighteen years, the longest pastorate at our church until Chester A Galloway, who served over twenty-three years (12 October 1949 to 31 August 1973). Besides FPC Matwan, he also served the Presbyterian Church at Woodbury in Woodbury, NJ, the Morrisville Presbyterian Church in Morrisville, Pennsylvania, and was chaplain for what is now called the Office of Chaplaincy Services at the New Jersey State Prison in Trenton. A native of Westmoreland County, Virginia, he returned to his hometown after a full life in ministry and peacefully passed away.

The Presbyterian Ministerial Directory of 1898 showed John Murphy Rogers born 18 March 1818 in Westmoreland County, Virginia. He was ordained on 15 May 1844 in Machodoc, Virginia in Westmoreland County.

The General Catalogue of Princeton University (1746 - 1906) lists John Murphy Rogers as attending Princeton University from 1839 - 1942 and receiving his A.M. at Princeton in 1840. He served as Chaplain, New Jersey State Prison from 1878 - 1893. The Reverend died in 1899.

The necrology report in the Synod's 78th annual report published in 1900 contained this report on John Muphry Rogers:

JOHN MURPHY ROGERS was born in Westmoreland County, Virginia, March 15th, 1818. His father, William L. Rogers, was an army officer in the war of 1812, and removed with his family to Princeton, N. J., some time prior to 1836. He graduated from the College of New Jersey in 1837. Afterwards he studied law, but finding himself called to the ministry, he abandoned his chosen profession, and entered the Princeton Seminary, and graduated in 1842. He was ordained by the Presbytery of West Jersey May 15th, 1844, and installed pastor at Woodbury, N. J., where he remained until 1847. In 1850 he became pastor at Middletown Point (now Matawan), which pastorate continued until 1867. He then removed to Princeton, where he remained for two years without a charge; but in 1873 he became pastor in Morrisville, Pa., which church he served until 1877, making his home meantime in Princeton. From 1878 to 1893 he served as Chaplain of the New Jersey State Prison, Trenton, N. J. fie then returned to his birthplace, Machodoc, Westmoreland County, Va., where he peacefully passed away November 19th, 1899, in the eighty-second year of his age.

John M Rogers was a 30 year old Virginia native, according to the 1850 Federal Census, which showed him as a Presbyterian clergyman living in Raritan Township, NJ with his wife Jane (24) and daughter Eliza (6). The wife was born in Virginia and daughter in New Jersey.

John M Rogers was a 42 year old Virginia native, according to the 1860 Federal Census, which showed him as an Old Side Presbyterian (OSP) clergyman living in Matawan with his wife Jane (36) and daughters Lizzie (15) and Anna (8). The wife was born in Virginia and the two children were born in New Jersey. He had $5,000 worth of property.

John M Rogers was a 52 year old Virginia native, according to the 1870 Federal Census, which showed him as a Minister living in Princeton, NJ with his wife Jane (45), daughter Anita (17) and son William (9), as well as his mother Jane (68). The wife and mother were born in Virginia and the two children in New Jersey. He had a total of $35,000 worth of property.

According to Presbyterians Pioneer at Matawan, pp. 35-36:

Soon after becoming its pastor, [Reverend Rogers] acquired a large dairy farm on New Brunswick Avenue, about one-thousand feet west of the old Mount Pleasant Church. The farm remained in his possession until three years after he left the Church. Today, Mr and Mrs Clarence G Linden, members of the congregation, live in a home converted from a former storage building on the farm. The original homestead burned.

Near the end of the Rev Mr Rogers' pastorate, in 1867, the Church was enlarged and improved at a cost of about four thousand dollars. During alterations services were held in the First Baptist Church until February 1868.

After leaving the Church, the Rev Mr Rogers became Protestant chaplain of the New Jersey State Prison at Trenton.

Presbyterians Pioneer adds that the manse at 230 Main Street was built in 1853, which would have been during Reverend Rogers' early tenure at Matawan.

FPC History: Reverend J Henry Kaufman (1871 - 1873)

The Reverend J Henry Kaufman was installed at FPC Matawan on 23 October 1871 and died two years later, nearly to the day, while serving this church.


On 7 April 1853, J Henry Kaufman was certified by the Presbytery of Philadelphia to preach the gospel, according to The Home and Foreign Record of the Presbyterian Church.

According to marriage records, J H Kaufman married Maria Louisa Vandeventer on 23 May 1855. Maria was the daughter of Princeton, NJ druggist James Vandeventer and his wife Sarah, per the 1850 census. (Perhaps Henry and Maria met while he was in seminary?)

Resolution No 177, approved by the Mayor Samuel Hinks and the City Council of Baltimore on 25 September 1855, authorized J Henry Kaufman,  pastor of the Presbyterian church at the corner of Church and Light streets, to erect an iron rail in front of the church. (This could have been the South Presbyterian Church, which was founded in April of that year and was renamed the Light Street Presbyterian Church in 1871. If so, Rev. Kaufman appears to have been their founding pastor.)

I have been unable to locate the family in the 1860 census. (The family could have been traveling in the South at the time as a daughter was born about 1861 in Georgia.)

As of the 1870 Federal Census, J Henry Kauffman was a 44 year old native of Pennsylvania in Presbyterian ministry living in Baltimore County, Maryland, with his New Jersey-born wife Maria (40), sons William (14) and Henry (12), and daughters Kittie (9) and Maria (5).  All of the children were born in Maryland, except for Kittie, who was born in Georgia. The family was rather well off, according to the 1870 census, having $6,000 in property and two black servants.

Rev J Henry Kaufman of Matawan is mentioned in the 1870-1871 Memorial Offering. Valuations recorded include $1,300 for home objects and $200 for general objects. (Someone may wish to read the full report to sort out what this memorial fund is all about.)

According to Presbyterians Pioneer at Matawan (1959), pp 36, 38:

On Sunday morning, October 26, 1873, the Rev Mr Kaufman rose and repeated, somewhat feebly, the words of the hymn to be sung:


Soon the delightful day will come,
When my dear Lord will call me home,
And I shall see his face.


He sat down and the congregation sang the hymn. Then the Rev Mr Kaufman offered a prayer and fell against the pulpit. He had suffered a heart attack and the next day died at his home.

The Matawan Journal of 1 November 1873 confirms his death on 27 October without elaboration.

As of the 1880 census, the widow M L Kaufman was living in Plainfield, NJ with 3 of her children and a servant.

The widow Maria Louisa Kaufman died 17 November 1905. Her funeral service was held at FPC Matawan on 20 November, according to the NY Tribune of 20 Nov 1905.

FPC History: Reverend Edwin I Stearns (1909-1912)

The Reverend Edwin Ira Stearns served as minister of FPC Matawan from late 1909 to early 1912.  A young family man when he began preaching at Matawan, the Reverend and his wife Mary, both Pennsylvania natives, had been married only a year and were expecting their son Edwin when they accepted the call to Matawan. The Reverend was received by the Presbytery of Monmouth on 22 November 1909 from the Presbytery of Philadelphia, North, according to Synod of New Jersey minutes. The 1910 Federal Census for New Jersey showed the 33 year old "clergyman", his 28 year old wife, and their 1 year old son living in Matawan.

Presbyterians Pioneer at Matawan, p. 44, said the Reverend brought 38 new members into the congregation. Minutes showed that he served on the Synod of New Jersey's temperance committee (1911).

Reverend Stearns resigned 15 Feb 1912 and was replaced at Matawan by Charles H Bruce. Stearns became superintendent of the Anti-Saloon League of New Jersey, in which capacity he testified before the Judiciary Committee of Congress in 1912, per Congressional testimony found at Google Books. Note that the Anti-Saloon League, later named the Temperance League, was the leading voice for Prohibition in the US. The New Jersey office was located at 16 Clinton Street, Newark.

The 1920 Federal Census showed Edwin, his wife, and three children were back in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania; Edwin was listed as a minister of the gospel. Reverend Stearns became pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Caldwell, NJ in late 1920. The 23 Feb 1939 edition of The Matawan Journal said that Reverend Sterns was resigning effective 14 Apr 1939 after serving 19 years at FPC Caldwell. He brought over 1,450 new members and paid off the church mortgage during his tenure at Caldwell.

The Matawan Journal of 11 January 1935, p 4, showed Reverend Stearns living in Caldwell, NJ and still involved in temperance matters. Old Fulton NY Postcards has a document showing Reverend Stearns as a national field secretary.

Born in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania in September 1876, Edwin was the son of photographer Leland E and Ida E Stearns, who were living in Wilkes Barre as of the 1880 census. Edwin played football and participated in crew at University of Pennsylvania. He graduated U Penn Law School in 1899 and practiced law in Philadelphia until 1905. He was listed as an attorney at law in the 1900 census, when he was living in Philadelphia. He was a football coach at Lehigh University, Oberlin College, and Pennsylvania Military College during the same 1899-1905 period.

Edwin's interest in religion developed during his last year of college, during a lengthy illness. He graduated Princeton Theological Seminary in 1907 and was ordained at Ambler, Pennsylvania, where he held his first pastorate. He left Ambler in 1909 to become pastor at Matawan.

He married Mary Beatrice Jetter the year he was ordained. It looks like his son, Edwin I Stearns, Jr, of Caldwell, was Class of '32 at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania as of 1929, according to the school's paper, The Lafayette.

FPC History: The Coming of the Second Mount Pleasant Church (1777 - 1820)

In 1777, Tories in Monmouth County burned down the first Mount Pleasant Church, an early iteration of FPC Matawan. Reverend Charles McKnight, the pastor at the time, was gathering crowds on the church's green to speak to them in support of the ongoing Revolution against the Crown. Some months earlier, Rev McKnight had suffered a saber wound to the head at the Battle of Princeton.

The congregation struggled over twenty years without a regular pastor or building, during the entire war and beyond. In 1793, the State of New Jersey authorized a $1,500 lottery to be conducted to raise monies for a new edifice. The lottery was a success. Tickets were sold, funds raised, prizes won, and a building erected by 1798. But sermons continued to be delivered by a steady stream of supplies. Even with a church building, the congregation lacked a permanent pastor for an additional twenty-two years.

It wasn't until August 1820 that Rev Eli Cooley accepted the call to preach at the second Mount Pleasant Church. And that took three letters of petition, including a letter to Rev Cooley's father-in-law asking him to intercede with his son. The letter also offered an increased salary package as an incentive. [NOTE: This could be the Reverend Eli Field Cooley (1781 - 1860), who graduated Princeton in 1806, served as pastor of the Presbyterian Church of Cherry Valley, New York from 1810 - 1820 (source) and the Presbyterian Church in Ewing, NJ circa 1838. (source)]

A Sunday School book found in the church archives that was published in 1818 indicates that Sabbath School began at 9:30 am and involved the reading of catechism and New Testament verses. Notations for teachers said: Each student present at the calling of names to receive one blue Ticket for punctual attendance & one blue Ticket to be given for every 3 ans. in the catechism & every 4 verses in N.T. repeated by memory. A blue ticket to be given or, equal in value to one read ticket -- 20 read tickets to procure a copy of the N. Testament.

Source: Presbyterians Pioneer at Matawan (1682-1959), pp. 19-20, 25-28.

FPC History: New Year's Eve, 1955

It was Sunday morning New Year's Eve 1955. The congregation of the Matawan Presbyterian Church gathered at the high school for worship that day, an arrangement made only the afternoon before. A rented organ played the introit. The choir wore borrowed robes. The women of the church had hung drapes and arranged desks on the school's stage. And in the center of that makeshift chancel was a table covered in maroon cloth, upon which stood an old brass cross recovered from the communion table during the awful fire that destroyed FPC Matawan's sanctuary on Main Street on Christmas Sunday the week before.

All signs of smoke and ash had been carefully removed from that cross, but the fire was on everyone's minds and in everyone's hearts. Memories of the blaze and the fight to save the edifice were of course fresh and raw. Their thoughts dwelt on an odd mixture of the heroic and the mundane, the corporate and the private, and the spiritual and the worldly. They had borne witness to the heroism and generosity of the firefighters, but also the drilling of holes in the sanctuary floor to drain inches of water from the building. Everyone was grateful that no lives were lost, but most didn't know that a widower had stood vigil the night of the fire over the body of his deceased wife, which had been in the burning building and safely evacuated.

Members had felt the hand of evil in the destruction of their historic church home, but also saw signs of hope in the preservation of the church's records, its pulpit Bible and brass cross, its communion set, and its baptismal font. Many had watched the last symbol of FPC's presence on Main Street -- the old Stanford White steeple -- as it was pulled down from its precarious vigil into the ashen debris below. They were wondering what would be next, so they gathered at the high school for words of encouragement and solace but also of hope in the future.

Most by now knew that the arson's torch had started in the choir's storage room early that Sunday evening, but it isn't clear that all were yet aware that the relatively small Church School fire on Christmas Eve had been his work as well. They didn't know what they as a church would do next, so they gathered to worship that New Year's Eve in odd surroundings but as a communion of faith with hundreds of years of corporate history that wasn't about to fade that winter.


Reverend Chester Galloway rose to deliver his sermon that morning. In his hand was the pulpit Bible he had used for the scripture lesson on Christmas Sunday. The Bible's cover had been charred and its pages soaked through when it was found, but it survived sheltered on the shelf within the pulpit where Reverend Galloway had left it.  The Reverend stood for a new beginning when he opened his sermon with a bit of tough love, saying, "We can sit down and cry or we can pick up the pieces and start all over again."

A separate article will cover the rebuilding of FPC Matawan on Route 34.

Reference: "Presbyterians Pioneer at Matawan," pp. 55 - 60

FPC History: Women on the Boards

While the history of women in Christian service at the First Presbyterian Church of Matawan doesn't begin with their being elected to church office, it is well worth noting the names of the following pioneers for their achievement in breaking down the gender barrier to board membership.

The Session was established in 1820. Two women were first named to the board in 1959.

• Mrs Arnold C Massie
• Mrs William H Groft

The Board of Trustees was established in 1816. Miss J Mabel Brown was named as the first woman to the board in 1956 and became its first female President sometime before 1960.

The Board of Deacons was established in 1943. Six women were first named to the board in 1952.

• Mrs Henry Luhrs
• Mrs J Fred Robinson
• Mrs E Story Hallock
• Mrs John C Hessey
• Mrs Vernon F Beyer
• Mrs Walter Stamm

Note that Presbyterians Pioneer at Matawan, written in 1959, quaintly associates each of the married women with their husbands, so I don't have their first names at my disposal. Maybe someone remembers their names or could look them up in church records? It could be a reply to this posting or written up more formally in an upcoming Lantern.

FPC History: Rev Robert B Berger (1936 - 1949)

In September 1936, when the First Presbyterian Church of Matawan was on Main Street and celebrating its 250th anniversary, the Reverend Robert B Berger was installed as pastor. Rev Berger came to Matawan from the First Presbyterian Church of Kingston in Kingston, New York.

During Rev Berger's tenure, which ran until 1949, there was such church growth that new hymnals had to be ordered. And the size of the Session had to be doubled, from 6 members to 12. The membership nearly doubled, growing from 271 to 490. The number of Sunday School teachers likewise nearly doubled, from 14 to 26 to teach 189 students, when only 110 students had been registered previously.

The church established its first Board of Deacons in 1943. According to Presbyterians Pioneer at Matawan, "These young men supervised ushering at services and, during World War II, prepared packages for men in service overseas."

The Presbyterian Church established the rotary system in 1949. According to the new rule, an Elder was allowed to serve a 3-year term with the option to extend one additional term. James S Brown, Jr, the editor of  Presbyterians Pioneer at Matawan, more than suggests that FPC Matawan had mixed emotions about the General Assembly's decision when he writes, "The wounds made by such a change were shared by the Matawan Church with all churches that were keeping pace with the times by making this adjustment."

The church began to enjoy their new status. A church secretary was hired in 1948. Every member was able to receive a personal copy of Presbyterian Life magazine. A silver communion service was given as a memorial gift. Chimes were donated. A brass altar cross donated in 1937 survived the 1955 fire to be used in the new sanctuary. And, by January 1949, the congregation formed a Building Committee to completely renovate the building and add a separate Sunday School building.

Rev Berger accepted a call to be pastor at the First Presbyterian Church of Carthage in Carthage, Missouri. (The church's website is under construction but the church has a very active Facebook site, and the minister, Matthew Roberts, has his own blog.)

Upon his departure, FPC Matawan presented Rev Berger with a scroll, which read:

The First Presbyterian Church of Matawan, New Jersey, has had a blessed era of spiritual and material prosperity under Rev Berger's tireless leadership, and the severance of his ministerial relations leaves us with a deep sense of loss.