Elizabeth, NJ -- First Permanent English Settlement

"On October 28, 1664, the Indians of Staten Island sold to John Bailey, Daniel Denton and Luke Watson (the Elizabethtown Associates), a tract of land lying between the Raritan River and the Passaic River, extending westward from Newark Bay. The tract extended about 34 miles between the two rivers and about 17 miles westward from Newark Bay, comprising 500,000 acres. It included what is now the City of Elizabeth.

"Permission to purchase from the Indians was granted by Colonel Richard Nicolls who was Governor of all the territories in North America. Colonel Nicolls was Governor by virtue of appointment by the then Duke of York, who had been granted the territories in North America by King Charles the Second of England.

The deed of conveyance from the Indians was delivered on December 1, 1664 to John Baker, John Ogden, John Bailey and Luke Watson. (Denton having sold his interest to Baker and Ogden.) The four grantees took possession of the tract by building at least four houses before April 1665 and thus the settlement and development of Elizabeth began.

"Neither Governor Nicolls nor the purchasers knew that on June 24, 1664, the Duke of York had conveyed to Lord John Berkeley and Sir George Carteret the tract of land known as New Jersey. Berkeley and Carteret commissioned Philip Carteret, a relative of Sir George, as Governor of New Jersey and he arrived in August 1665 with a group of settlers and servants." From Elizabethnj.org

"Elizabethans, John Ogden, father (1609-1682) and son (1638-1702), constructed the oldest portion of their home about 1680. Both had been born in Bradley Plain, Hampshire England, came to the colonies about 1641, first to Connecticut, then to Long Island, before becoming founding settlers of Elizabeth in 1664. Their house would be developed by several subsequent owners and eventually be known as the Belcher-Ogden mansion, a beautifully proportioned example of Georgian architecture and the brick style known as Flemish bond." From Visit Historical Elizabeth New Jersey.

These early Congregationalists organized what is now First Presbyterian Church in 1664, making it the oldest English-speaking congregation in the state. (See New Jersey Churchscapes for more information on the church.) There was already at least one Dutch-speaking congregation in New Jersey -- Dutch Reformed Church of Bergen -- founded in 1660.

Abraham Pierson, 1609-1678

Rev. Abraham Pierson was the pastor of the Branford church in Connecticut where many of the former New Haven colonists had come from who were the first English settlers in Newark. Rev. Pierson was born in 1609 in Yorkshire, England and was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, graduating in 1632 at age 19. He was episcopally ordained at the parish church of Newark-on-the-Trent. He landed in Boston in 1639, was ordained a Congregational minister there, and later organized a Congregational church in Lynn, Massachusetts.

In 1640, he led a group of Puritans to found "The Isle of the Innocents," Southampton, Long Island. They landed there on June 12, 1640, on what is now known as Conscience Point. He was opposed to Southampton joining the more liberal Connecticut colony in 1644 and made his way to Branford, Connecticut around 1647. Southampton remains the oldest English settlement in the state of New York.

Rev. Pierson married Abigail Wheelwright. The couple had 10 children, most of them born in Southampton. When Robert Treat set sail in early May of 1666 with the New Haven party, Rev. Pierson stayed behind in Branford until 1667. Newark was the last Puritan theocracy to be founded in America.

Rev. Pierson remained pastor in Newark until his death on August 9, 1678. Cotton Mather characterized Pierson as a "godly, learned man" and "wherever he came he shone." When he died, his library included over 400 books (one of the largest collections in the colonies), which were left to his son, Abraham. This son was the first rector, from 1701 to 1707, and one of the founders of the Collegiate School — which later became Yale University.

Unanswered Questions:

• When did the Puritan theocracy in Newark end? And what led to its demise?

First Presbyterian Church Orange

The congregation of the First Presbyterian Church Orange was formed in 1719 as The Church at Newark Mountains. Up until that time, congregants had traveled to the First Presbyterian Church in Newark for worship. The current building was built about 1870. After 291 years, the church held its final service on July 18, 2010.

For more information see:

• The New Jersey Churchscape
• First Presbyterian Church Orange website -- remains now as a memorial to the Church and its congregation
• Facebook page for former congregants and friends of the church
• Guide to the records of the First Presbyterian Church Orange, New Jersey Historical Society

Old First Presbyterian Church, Newark, NJ

Building on the First Presbyterian Church in Newark began before the American Revolution but was halted during the war. Work resumed in 1787 with first services held in 1791. It was designed by Eleazer Ball. The organizing of the congregation dates to the founding of Newark in 1666; originally they were Congregationalists. By 1720, the congregation was organized as a Presbyterian church.

Abraham Pierson, one of Newark's original founders, was the congregation's first minister.

The church still stands at 820 Broad Street, at the intersection of Market Street. It is at this intersection that the original settlement of Newark began. First Presbyterian is the oldest congregation in Newark.

This engraving was made in the year the church was opened, 1792. Tiebout, Cornelius, 1777-1832, engraver. Illus. in: New York Magazine, 1792 (September). Repository: Library of Congress Rare Book and Special Collections Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Call Number: Illus. in AP2.A2 N5 [Rare Book RR]

For more information see:

• Historic American Buildings Survey
• The New Jersey Churchscape
• A Walk Through Newark
• Library of Congress, photos of First Presbyterian
• Old Newark, Houses of Worship
• Old Newark, Houses of Worship: List of Pastors