The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1902-10-21
One Hundred Years Old

One Hundred Years Old.
Considerable historic interest for Friends
attaches to the centennial celebration at
the Friends Meeting House at Moores-
town, in Burlington county, which took
place on Saturday afternoon with appro-
pirate ceremony.
The quaint structure in which the eel
ebration was held, is one of the oldest
and most interesting in this county Its
history antedates the founding of the
town itserf which, in its turn, lacks but
a few years of being as old as Philadel-
phia. 1t is declared that Philadelphia, in
the beginning of its history, was not
more pre- eminently Friends settlement
than was Moorestown. The first title.
holders, and even their predecessors,
were Friends, and, naturally, property
was early set aside for the purpose of
worship 1t gives some idea of early
land values to learn from the records that
the grounds on which the Friends Meet
ing House, of MOorestown, was estab-
lished. ground at present located in the
heart of the thriving and pretty town,
was sold to the body of trustees of the
Friends Society for the sum of fourteen
shillings, on April 2, 100.
One of these original trustees was Sarah,
widow of John Roberts, of whom it is
said she represents the only instance of a
woman acting as trustee for real estate
in the Friends Society The first meet
house was a log cabin, small, of course,
but equal to all the requirements of the
scattered society which it served.
| This lot was located on the Burlington
and Salem road, popularity called the
Kings Highway" which was laid out
in 1852, and passed along the ridge on
which Moorestown stands. The meeting
house stood on the southeastern corner of
of the lot, next to Chester avenue, and
facing Main street. Extending westward
toward the meeting house, next to the ad-
joining William Penn Hotel, was wag-
on shed, under which the vehicles of the
worshippers were ranged on meeting
days; there was a smaller shed for the
saddle horses, on which some of the Young
men, and young women, too, rode to
meeting. All this property was destroy
ed by a disastrous fire in 1870, which
caused the society, for brief time, to
hold meetings once more in dwelling
houses, as was done in the earlier DAYS. A
fine, new structure was soon erected, how
ever, part of which was of stone, and
served the society for over eighty years.
Its growth and needs caused the remov-
al in 1902 to the present site and the cree
ton of the present substantial edifice, the
centennial of which is to be observed.
Joshua Roberts, Jacob Hollinshead, Jo- !
mas Cattle and John Collins were elders
and overseers of the Friends Society |
when it purchased, in 1881. for the sum
OF e96 5s. I'd, gold and silver, the sight |
ly plot of little over two acres across |
the way on which the present meeting
house stands. Even the casual visitor
passing swiftly on the trolley car of to-
day can not repress involuntary admira-
tien for the smooth velvet lawn, ter
raced slopes and towering trees which
grace the grounds about the ancient meet
ing house.
The old red brick structure, with its
simple porch and plain exterior, is set in
charming frame of living green. At
first as may be imagined it was much
too large for the uses of the society, and
probably would be to-day had not the
division in 1929 caused the building of a
smaller new structure in which the sue
cessors Of the original society now wor-
ship, the original building being occupied
by the Separatists. 1t is pleasant to note
that the two societies dwell side by side
in perfect harmony, and the other branch
of the society freely uses the old build
ing for it's meeting on all extra occasions.
During the celebration Saturday several
interesting papers were read, giving the
complete story of the establishment of
the Friends meeting in Moorestown, and
sketches of the early families connected
with the Society. The private diaries and
archives of old Moorestown families con
tributed largely to these, giving some
graphic accounts of the building of the
Meeting House, and how the funds were
raised. Friends were among the earliest
settlers to give care to their burying
grounds for themselves and for the gen
eral public.
The large attendance at the centennial
exercises testified to the great interest in
the event. Catherine B. Lippincott read
a paper on Settlement of Friends in the
Province of West Jersey" She said that
when the first settlers in Philadelphia
were living in dugouts, on Front street
the residents in this section already had
comfortable log cabins.
Miss Martha S. Hollingshead read a
paper giving an account of the building
of the Meeting House. John NJ Lippin-
colt gave history of the burying grounds.
Clayton Conrow and Emmor Roberts
gave an account of the early families
after which there was general discussion
participated in by DR.. A. NJ Stackhouse,
Maple Shade; Enoch Evans, Westfield
Ezra A. Lippincott and Anna Cooper Lip
pincott, of Riverton; Howard M. Cooper,
Camden; Joel Barton, Woodstown, and
Edmund Braddock, of Medford.