The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1893-09-29

ODD SHC2S IN THE State
Forms of Worship Some In
du1ge in That Others
Know Little About.
DUNKARDS AND M0RMONS.
Quite a Gathering Of Quakers-
Seventh Day ~AdV6ntists and
ChristadeIphians.

There are sects of ~religionists in New
Jersey that. IL they were ever heard of az
all by The existing generation: were sup
posed TO have become extinct long ago.
And yet they flourish and have their
devotees and their temples of worship and
their regularly sustained prIesthoods.
Even the Mormons linger in one part of
the State, and the old time DuDkards or
Conservative B~rethren-wno are given to
plain clothe and settle their differences
among themselves, are down on lodges
and against the manufacture OF spirits,
and wash one auother's feet in prepare
ton for the Lords Supper-are known in
the neighborhood Of Ringoes, in Hunter
don County. All shades Of creeds are
represented in the score or mora OF
odd seets hat the takers of the last
national census uncovered to public
view.
DUNKARDs M MoRMoNs,
The Duukards are not a very numer-
GUS community, but there are enough OF
them TO get into the church census.
AroundRingoes. where They do most coa-
gregate, there are 1S5 Communicates,
divided into several churches, but the
total value of their church property does
uO GAGCo0 TOsOOHs nv
there was a time when Joe" Smith had
a large and active following in soue parts
of New Jersey. The average JerseYman
disposed to Mormonism never took very
kindly to Brigham Young's p~olYgamous
theories. but Prophet Smith was
Ocean county section Of this
State. The churches that regarded
themselves as Of more orthodox forms OF
faith made a hot war upon them. but the
more they were stamped upon the more
vigorous, aggressive and numerous they
became. Several colonies OF them were
recruited from the pine jewellers of that
region. They allied themselves with the
Reorgauized Church, and went West
TO enjoy the sweets of their religion In
the Eden of Mormonism. There Is still
a little congregation of them floating
around Ocean County. Their old place
of worship tands on one OF the roads
leading into Toms River. and though it
is abandoned and Ping into decay, the
flock Is supposed to md ~seclusion of wor-
ship in the houses of the members.
QUAKERS.
Time was When most Of the devout
people in the south part of the State
made their way to the meeting house Of
the Friends and sat there in silent prayer
till the spirit moved them TO speak. Chat
u of the State has always been subject
to the influence of Philadelphia, and the
6HAklG u v lllA6A1 - Sah RSA NIaSo - oSb
Elements that located there tilfthe Society
of Friends represented about all there
was of religion in that end of the State.
But every new census notes a decline III
The Quaker population. The census bulle-
tins classify the Friends into four sec5s.
Neither the Wilburites nor the Primt-
tive were ever popular in New Jersey,
and those Jersey families VINO identified
themselves with the persuasion were
either of the Hicksite or Orthodox
variety. The Orthodox had fallen in the
rear of ths other branch, aud more of the
Hieksites nave survived the wreck of
time, One does not find many of either
above the Treaton line. In 1870 these
severely plain people had % places OF
worship; today there are only 43. In Bur-
lington, where they flourish most numer-
ously, they have 81 meeting houses; in
1870 they had "a there.
The total of the followers of both
branches in the State is 3.261, of whom
2.279 are Hicksites and 9S2 Orthodox. The
Orthodox are most numerous in Camden
and Salem counties, though Union
county, one of the northern counties of
the State. has a roll of 100. Burlington
IS best equipped with both the orders.
there being 935 Hicksites and 81 Ortho-
doX Worshlppers.
NEW JERUSALEM CHAPEL
Emanuel ~Sweden0org's spirit still sur
wives in the Church of the New Jerusa-
4Gu. 4uG LLdubLl1k ~ VI cOulB was
his pet eoneeit. The mau of today is tie
bird of tomorrow, aud the soul of an old
time monkey is animating a human
frame now-that, to put it in pop
ular phrase, was the dogma
which he p~ropagated. Thirty or thirty
five years ago it was the fad to take
some slock III the theory, and Jerseymen
fell in line with the rest of the world.
But today the total of New Jerusalem
Church worshippers is only 1923. Essex
has 142 or them. divided into three necesa
sarily small congregational; Cumberland
has l35, Passaic 25 and Hudson owns to
only g.
In Cumberland, Monmouth and Union
counties there is q sprtnkling of Seventh
Day Baptists. They number 745 all told
-15S of them worshipping in two
churches in Cumberland. Eighty-hve
professors of religion are leagued In the
faith of the Seventh Day Adveutists.
who would not be surprised to hear the
horn of Gabriel at any hour of any day.
Fifty-six people gather in a little build.
lug at Freehold to sing their praises to
the creed of the Life aud Advent Union.
The Christians. part of the Christian
Connection have fifteen churches and a
trifle fewer than fifteen hundred devot
ees In the State. Their church property
is valued at $50, 600. Their foar churches
in Hunterdon county have a membership
of 610; their three in Sussex have 272;
their five in Warren have 1922. in Essex,
where they number 100, n in Burling-
ton and Mercer counties each they have
a single church-that in this city-With
about ninety worshippers.