Faith and Freedom: Stories from Our Churches During the American Revolution
Lamington Presbyterian Church 1776:
Long before the Declaration of Independence was signed by our Founding Fathers 250 years ago, the Lamington Presbyterian Church was already firmly established, serving a rural community spanning Somerset and Hunterdon counties. The church was founded in 1740 as a Presbyterian meeting house by Scotch-Irish colonists who came to the area in search of religious freedom and economic opportunity. Dutch and German settlers joined them.
Lamington has been called “the first truly American Presbyterian church” because it was the first to be founded by a colonial-era presbytery. Earlier Presbyterian churches in America were started by British presbyteries.
The congregation first met in a barn near the present intersection of Lamington and Rattlesnake Bridge roads in Bedminster Township. Minutes of the April 1, 1740 meeting of the New Brunswick Presbytery record the milestone that James McCrea – 30 years old and born in Ireland – had been called as the new congregation’s pastor. McCrea would go on to serve Lamington for 26 years.
From the time of its founding, according to church history, Lamington Presbyterian followed a course of independence. That independent spirit would flower into an extraordinary record of service by congregation members in the American Revolution.
Eighty-three men from the congregation of about 80 families took part in the Revolutionary War. They included four colonels, a major, two captains, three lieutenants and a number of ordinary soldiers and non-commissioned officers. Many other congregation members were involved in civilian efforts to support the war.
Lamington is associated with two legendary figures of the Revolutionary War – John Honeyman and Jane McCrea. Both played pivotal roles during critical turning points in the war.
Honeyman, a spy for General George Washington, helped assure his victory at the Battle of Trenton on Dec. 26, 1776. That victory over Hessian mercenaries helped restore public confidence in the American cause and set the stage for the patriots’ success at the Battle of Princeton a week later.
Jane McCrea, a daughter of the former Lamington pastor, was the victim of a scalping in July 1777 by Indians allied with the British forces in New York state. The brutality of Jane’s murder – just days before the young woman was to be married – turned many erstwhile Loyalists against the British, swelling the American army and helping them secure a decisive victory at the Battle of Saratoga.
The church’s cemetery has a historic section with the graves of several former pastors, Revolutionary War soldiers, and veterans of 19th century wars. The oldest recorded burial dates to 1740, and the cemetery includes the final resting place of Washington’s spy John Honeyman.
Also in the Lamington cemetery are the graves of John Mehelm and his wife, Joannah Beekman Mehelm, who hosted General Washington at their home on the outskirts of Oldwick while his troops were camped in Whitehouse and New Bromley in July 1777. Mehelm served as a member of the Colonial Assembly of New Jersey, and participated in the historic vote to depose William Franklin (the Loyalist son of Benjamin Franklin) as the state’s last Royal Governor in June 1776.
Echoes of Independence: The Revolutionary Legacy Resting at Bethlehem Presbyterian Cemetery
Dating back to the founding of the church in 1730, the Bethlehem Presbyterian Church cemetery in Pittstown, New Jersey, serves as the final resting place for 21 Revolutionary War soldiers. Many of these patriots were among the church’s original founders, weaving the story of local faith seamlessly into the nation’s fight for independence.
Among the prominent figures resting here is Abraham Bonnell. A active Son of Liberty and Lieutenant Colonel in the Second Regiment of the Hunterdon Militia, Bonnell represented his community at the Provincial Congress in 1775. The fight for freedom was local endeavor: initial organizing meetings for his regiment were held just north of the church at Bonnell’s Tavern.
Fellow Son of Liberty Charles Stewart also attended the Provincial Congress before catching the eye of General George Washington. Recruited as Washington’s Commissary General of Issues, Colonel Stewart directed all purchases vital to sustaining the war effort. Other leaders resting on these grounds include Lieutenant John Bray, who served as Assistant Commissary General, and Robert Taylor, a Son of Liberty whose High Bridge iron works manufactured essential weapons and ammunition for the Continental Army.
The grounds also contain the resting place of John Hackett, the namesake of nearby Hackettstown, as well as dozens of local millers, farmers, and craftsmen who took up arms or supplied essential provisions to support the troops.
By 1793, Captain Jacob Anderson directed the construction of a stone wall surrounding the cemetery—likely driven by a desire to safeguard the graves of his fellow revolutionary soldiers. Anderson himself was buried there in 1837.
The site also holds tragic stories, such as that of Dr. Jonathan Ingham. A physician who volunteered his medical skills to the Continental Army and offered his Pennsylvania estate for military use in 1776, Dr. Ingham fell ill with yellow fever during the 1793 epidemic. Believing mineral waters near Clinton might heal him, he set out on a journey but died along the road. Out of fear of contagion, locals refused to bury his body. In a profound act of devotion, his wife and an enslaved companion dug his grave themselves at the edge of the Bethlehem Church cemetery.
The long lasting bond between the church and its surrounding community was formalized in church records from 1795. A subscription list to build a “New Frame Church” to replace the original structure features the names of veterans like Bonnell, Stewart, and Taylor alongside over a hundred local residents—ensuring that the legacy of these early patriots built a foundation for generations to come.
Faith, Freedom, and Sacrifice: The Legacy of First Presbyterian Church of Washington
Before it was known as the First Presbyterian Church of Washington, New Jersey, this historic congregation was called the Mansfield Woodhouse Church. During the pivotal years of 1776 and 1777, its sacred grounds served a crucial military purpose as an artillery site protecting the vital King’s Highway. Today, the churchyard serves as the final resting place for numerous Revolutionary War soldiers and notable local figures, including Peggy Warne, a patriot who provided medical care to American troops.
Among the church’s historical ties is the story of its early pastor, the Reverend John Rosbrugh (Rosborough). After immigrating from Ireland with his older brother, William, Rosbrugh earned a degree from the College of New Jersey and was licensed to preach in August 1763. His first call to ministry brought him to the congregations of Greenwich, Oxford, and Mansfield Woodhouse.
By 1769, Rosbrugh had taken a call at a church in Allen Township, Pennsylvania. Following the reading by Rev. Rosbrugh of a letter from George Washington, the men of his new congregation formed a militia company and pledged to join the fight if Rev. Rosburgh lead them. Rosbrugh agreed, earning a commission as a chaplain—a role carrying the rank of major and a monthly pay of thirty-three and a half dollars. Serving as a patriot minister was uniquely dangerous; British forces held particular hatred for Presbyterian clergy, often subjecting captured ministers to brutal treatment.
Chaplain Rosbrugh’s militia was assigned to the 3rd Battalion under General Israel Putnam. While severe weather prevented Putnam’s battalion from crossing the Delaware River during Washington’s Christmas night raid in 1776, the unit was called to action shortly after. When General Washington launched his second campaign on Trenton, the 3rd Battalion set up position for the Battle of Assunpink Creek or the Second Battle of Trenton. On the afternoon of January 2, 1777, as American troops prepared their lines, Rosbrugh was dining at a local tavern when a sudden shout warned that Hessians had been spotted . Attempting to flee, he discovered his horse had been taken. Stranded on foot, he was quickly intercepted by a company of Hessians under British command. Recognizing him as a Presbyterian minister, the soldiers showed no mercy, bayoneting him to death, robbing his corpse, and leaving him in the snow. Captain Hays, the company commander, recovered the body and quickly buried him at the site.
A fellow chaplain, the Reverend George Duffield, recovered Rosbrugh’s body the following morning and moved him to the graveyard of the First Presbyterian Church of Trenton, where he remains buried today.
The story of Reverend Rosbrugh and the Mansfield Woodhouse grounds reflects the profound sacrifices made by early American congregations. From an artillery defense site to the sanctuary of patriot martyrs, the First Presbyterian Church of Washington stands as an enduring monument to the struggle for independence.
If your church as a American Revolution Story, please share with us by sending your story to office@highlandspresbyterynj.org
