The History of St. James' Church - Continued
The first Book of Common Prayer was adopted during the 1789 Convention where prayers for the King were changed to prayers for the President of the United States. During the Convention of 1801, The 39 Articles from England were included for use in the new Episcopal Church. Next came the admission of Bishops. Dr. William Smith was the first --elected in Maryland but never consecrated due to a drinking problem. Samuel Seabury of Connecticut was elected In 1783. He went to London to be consecrated, was refused, then went to Scotland where he was consecrated on November 14, 1784. Pennsylvania elected William White and New York elected Sam Provost. Due to the influence of Benjamin Franklin and John Adams on the British Government, William White and Samuel Provost were consecrated in the Chapel of Lambeth Palace by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York. These three newly consecrated Bishops returned to the colonies and could, in turn, consecrate Bishop in the "new world" inasmuch as ancient canons required that there be three Bishops to carry on Apostolic Succession.
It was not until the end of the 17th century that the Anglican Church was established In New Jersey. There was originally an East and a West New Jersey, with Hackettstown just over the line in West NJ. The boundary line ran through Budd Lake and Waterloo. The development began along the New Jersey coast; the Dutch Reformed came in from New York, the Congregationalists came from New England and the Quakers came in from the west. St. Peter's was established In 1698 In Perth Amboy and St. Mary's In Burlington began in 1703 and is still standing. St. Andrews was organized In Lambertville in 1716 and St. Thomas in Alexandria began In 1723.
The Diocese of New Jersey was organized In 1785. The first Bishop elected In New Jersey was Rev. Uzal Ogden in 1798. The Diocesan Convention of 1798 shows St. Peter's of Hackettstown represented by Montgomery Reading, nephew of Elizabeth Reading Hackett. He was active In the Presbyterian Church where Rev. Uzal Ogden had preached prior to becoming an Episcopalian.
The first Bishop -- consecrated in 1815 --- was John Croeg from St. Mary's in Burlington. St. Mary's became the center of Episcopal activity in New Jersey until the creation of the Diocese of Newark in 1874.
Missionaries came to the Hackettstown area in 1759. The Rev. Andrew Morton came to present-day Sussex and Warren counties from Hunterdon. In 1769, The Rev. Abraham Beach came from New Brunswick. He was reporting religious activity in northwest New Jersey to London. Mentioned in his reports is the building of a church in the Musconetong community -- probably referring to St. James in Delaware. Hackettstown, however, was called Musconetong at that time and that term is used In the description of land deeds of that period.
Sent by The Rev. Thomas Bradbury Chandler of Elizabeth, Uzal Ogden (later Rector of Trinity Church In Newark) was next to come into the area In 1772. He wrote of visits to Hackettstown and other towns nearby, and conducted services In the Presbyterian Church. He was instrumental in the establishment of Christ Church In Newton. Records indicate he preached the funeral sermon for Elizabeth Hackett, widow of John Hackett, for whom Hackettstown is named.
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Acknowledgment The Ven. Sydney E. Grant The Rev. Arthur Wing III