66 MINISINK, Dec. 6th, 1741. To the Rev. Consistory of Rochester, greeting: your "We, your servants, having learned that you have had correspondence with our pastor, and have seduced him, so far as to send him a call, thinking that the large amount of salary promised him will induce him to leave us-the Lord who thus far has caused acts of supplanting to fail will further direct them to a good end. We find ourselves bound to obey the command of the Saviour' Do good to them that hate you;' we therefore will deal with you hereafter, as we have before, 'doing you good.' It is true you give us no thanks for his services among you. You are bold enough to say that he has eight free Sundays during the year, which is as true as the assertion of the Devil to Eve, 'You will not surely die.' "If you desire, then, to have our minister four or six times during the year, we will grant your wish cheerfully, and leave it with our pastor to settle with you as to the amount of his compensation. If this cannot prevent the execution of your unjust intention, and the Lord wishes to use you as a rod to chasten us, we shall console ourselves with his gracious words, Heb. 12, 'Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and he rebukes every son whom he adopts.' If it please the Lord to permit you to deprive us of our pastor, then we hope that your consciences will not be seared so much as to take away our livelihood amounting to £125 12s. 6d. (over paid salary). "Should this however be the case, then we will not hesitate to give the matter into the hands of a worldly judge. We expect your answer, and conclude our discourse with the wish that the grace of our Lord and the love of God the Father, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, may remain with you until a blessed eternity. Amen. "We remain your servants, "JOHN CORTRIGHT, Whether this unique letter settled the matter or not, is not known; but Mr. Fryenmuth remained with the Minisinkers. After leaving Minisink, his whereabouts is involved in mystery; though he probably visited that section afterward, as his handwriting appears in the records at later dates. Lastly, August 26th, 1759, when he probably made his last visit. After the Indian troubles had partially subsided and a state of comparative quiet had been restored, Rev. Thomas Romeyn was selected to minister to the spiritual wants of the people of Minisink. He accepted the call September 6th, 1760, (as we learn from a letter of one of his descendants,) and was officiating minister until 1772, a period of twelve years, when he removed to Cahnawaga, Montgomery County, N. Y. The five years intervening between Mr. Fryenmuth's departure and Mr. Romeyn's arrival, appears to have been almost a blank in church affairs. During Mr. Romeyn's charge, these affairs, that till then had glided along so smoothly and uninterruptedly, partook of the spirit from abroad, and followed the course generally ascribed to the carnal world, and in weak imitation of poor sinful human nature, became embroiled in a quarel of surprising bitterness. The Dutch Reformed Church in this country had hitherto been subordinate to the classes of Amsterdam, in Holland; and all ministers desirous of being ordained, had to proceed there for that purpose. A large portion of the members were in favor of continuing that practice, and were called the Conferentie party. The others were in favor of ordaining their ministers by classes in this country, thus saving the expense and formality of a trip to Europe. These went under the cognomen of the Coetus party. The first meeting of ministers to settle the question was held in the City of New York in the year 1737. Another was held the following year which decided in favor of the Coetus party, and sent their decision to the classes of Amsterdam for approval. The latter was finally confirmed in 1746, and thus the wing of the church in this country became independent of that of Holland. The first Coetus, or classes, for the ordination of ministers and other business, was held in September, 1747. Under this new order all ministers were to be re-ordained, and a general overhauling of church affairs took place. The Conferentie party in Minisink were determined to hold the ascendency, and the Coetus party as fully determined they should not. The Coetus party insisted that in obedience to the new order all children should be rebaptized, and this developed a new feature in the ferment and added to its bitterness. The ladies of the Conferentie party declared they would not submit to this-it was bad enough to insult their ministers by forcing them to be re-ordained-but to cause the very babes to be re-baptized was an unheard of barbarity. Nobly did they maintain their ground: A young man, of the Coetus party, was waiting upon a young lady of good family, who, with her parents, was strongly attached to the opposite party. The match progressed favorably. The young lady returned his affection, and gave her consent to an early marriage. Her parents did not object, and everything bid fair for a prosperous voyage upon the sea of life. But, alas! how easy it is for disappointment to intervene. One Sunday evening, as usual, the young man was wending his way to the residence of his betrothed. But about two weeks more were between him and the consummation of his cherished hopes. He determined on this evening to settle all little preliminaries, so that no misunderstanding might occur on some more important occasion. His intended met him at the door with her brightest smile of welcome, and ere long both found themselves alone in the best room before the sparkling fire. "And so, dearest Jane," said he, putting an arm around her neck, and snatching a kiss from her tempting lips, so two weeks must pass by before I can call you my bonny wife. How long the time will seem." No, John," said she, "it will pass quick enough, for it may be, after we are married, you will not always think the same of me that you do now." 66 Ah, you little rogue, how can I ever think less of you? But, by the way, my darling, I thought I would speak to you about the dominie we are to have to marry us. I think we had better get Mr. (naming a minister of the Coetus party.) "And I have been thinking that Mr. Romeyn was the one we ought to get. He's a neighbor of ours, and preaches here in Maghackameck Church." "But I don't like him," said John. "We think he is a good man," said Jane. "And so am I a Conferentie," returned Jane indignantly, as she drew herself from his embrace. "But I won't have him," remarked John, rashly, as he began to feel his ireful nature rise. "Then you won't have me," was Jane's rejoinder. "I can get along without you, I'll let you understand," said John, independently, as he began to look for his hat, and to move toward the door. "You're a good for nothing scamp, so you are," sobbed Jane, snappishly. “I am glad I have found you out before it was too late," quoth John, as he made his exit from the door. I am glad of it "And so am I glad of it," said Jane, determinedly; and she shut the door behind him and cut in twain his half finished sentence. This true incident of the ill feeling engendered by the controversy, did not terminate as all lover's quarrels generally do-in reconciliation-for tradition has it that they held good the grudge to the day of their death. Nor was the ill feeling among the members, productive of such notable results in this vicinity alone. It is recorded that an equally amusing incident took place at Hackensack, New Jersey, though of a different nature. Mr. Goetschius, the minister at that place, took sides with the Conferenties, and announced himself an advocate of their measures. Hereat a great commotion arose, and the "pillars" of the church in the interest of the Coetus party, headed by the clerk, immediately assumed a pugilistic position. The preaching they had listened to, for hours at a time, with respectful attention and composure, they now declared to have been a decided bore. The opinions they had endorsed, and the sayings they had so often quoted as the productions of a genius possessed alone by their beloved dominie, they now discovered to have been sheer nonsense, and the author a numbscull. The common reply to a question often asked at gatherings, as to how the dominie was liked, |