REVOLUTIONARY WAR SITES IN EAST HANOVER, NEW JERSEY

Hanover Presbyterian Church and Cemetery
Mt. Pleasant Ave. at Hanover Rd
Map / Directions to the Hanover Presbyterian Church
Map / Directions to all East Hanover Revolutionary War Sites

Hanover Presbyterian Church

The current Hanover Presbyterian Church was built in 1834. It replaced an earlier Presbyterian church building at this spot which was built in 1755 and was here during the Revolutionary War. [1]

In 1777, General George Washington and the Continental (American) Army were encamped about six miles from here at Morristown. When many of the soldiers took ill with smallpox, some of them were taken here and the church was used as a hospital. [2] The Presbyterian Church of Succasunna in Roxbury was used for the same purpose.

Reverend Jacob Green

The church's pastor during the Revolutionary War was Reverend Jacob Green, who was a strong supporter of American Independence. He served as a Morris County delegate to the Provincial Congress of New Jersey, which functioned as a governing body during 1775-1776 while New Jersey made the transition from British Colony to one of the United States.

Green served in the Provincial Congress from June 10, 1776 - August 21, 1776. During that time, two important events occurred:
  •   On June 14, the Provincial Congress voted to arrest William Franklin, the last Royal Governor of New Jersey.
  •  Green served on the committee that drafted the Constitution of New Jersey, which was adopted on July 2, 1776, two days before United States declared Independence. [3]

Reverend Green was ardently anti-slavery. Church documents from his time as pastor refer to slavery as "an unnatural evil and one of the greatest injuries to mankind"  and state that the congregation "cannot admit into our church any that hold persons in slavery." [4]

The Old Parsonage of the church, where Green lived from 1757 until his death in 1790, is located a tenth of a mile from the church at 27 Hanover Road; it is now a private home. [5] He is buried in the church's cemetery.

The Cemetery

The following Revolutionary War veterans are known to be buried in the cemetery: [6]

Cook Halfway House
174 Mt. Pleasant Ave
Map / Directions to the Cook Halfway House
Map / Directions to all East Hanover Revolutionary War Sites

This house, which was used as a tavern during the Revolutionary War era, was owned by Ellis Cook, who served as a Lt. Colonel in the Morris County Militia during the war. Cook was also active politically during the war years. He served in the Provincial Congress of New Jersey [8] and later in the New Jersey State Assembly. [9]

Colonel Cook died April 7, 1797, and is buried in the Hanover Presbyterian Church Cemetery. (See above entry) [10]

Source Notes:

1. ^ Oliver W. Chapin, A History of the First Presbyterian Church of Hanover, 1718 - 1968 (1968 ) Pages 12 and 27-28

2. ^ Oliver W. Chapin, A History of the First Presbyterian Church of Hanover, 1718 - 1968 (1968 ) Page 18

3. ^ Biographical information about Reverend Green from the Biographical Note to the Guide to the Jacob Green Collection The New Jersey Historical Society. This collection of documents related to Reverend Green is available online here

Minutes of the Provincial Congress and the Council of Safety of the State of New Jersey (Trenton: Naar, Day & Naar, 1879)
Available to be read at the Internet Archive here
  • Green listed among the delegates at the fifth session of the Provincial Congress; June 10, 1776 - August 21, 1776:  Page 445
  • Vote to arrest William Franklin; June 14, 1776:  Pages 454 - 458
  • Green appointed to the committee to draft the New Jersey Constitution; June 4, 1776:  Pages 474
  • Provincial Congress approves the New Jersey Constitution, including Green's vote to approve; July 2, 1776:  Pages 488

New Jersey's 1776 Constitution was later replaced by a new one in 1844, which was itself replaced by the current one in 1947.
For more information, see the New Jersey Constitution article on the New Jersey Department of State website.

4. ^ Oliver W. Chapin, A History of the First Presbyterian Church of Hanover, 1718 - 1968 (1968)
Reprints the following two documents:
   • Rules Adopted for the Regulation of Families, (September. 26th, 1782) - on Pages 80-82
   • Articles of Faith and practice adopted between Nov. 1781 and April. 1782 - on Page 84-85

5. ^ "Old Parsonage" historic sign in front of 27 Hanover Road. Erected by the Morris County Heritage Commission.

6. ^ Information about the Revolutionary War veterans graves was drawn from the following sources. There are several inconsistencies in the information and a few apparent errors in the Revolutionary War markers. An effort has been made to combine this information as accurately as possible.

• Oliver W. Chapin, A History of the First Presbyterian Church of Hanover, 1718 - 1968 (1968 ) Pages 94-95

• Gravestones and Revolutionary War markers in the church

7. ^ For the political career of Aaron Kitchell:

~  Minutes of the Provincial Congress and the Council of Safety of the State of New Jersey, at a Session Begun at Trenton on the 23rd Day of October, 1781, and Continued by Adjournments (Trenton: Isaac Collins, 1782)
Available to be read at the Internet Archive here

~  Minutes of the Provincial Congress and the Council of Safety of the State of New Jersey, at a Session Begun at Trenton on the 22nd Day of October, 1782, and Continued by Adjournments (Trenton: Isaac Collins, 1782)
Available to be read at the Internet Archive here

~  Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

8. ^ Minutes of the Provincial Congress and the Council of Safety of the State of New Jersey (Trenton: Naar, Day & Naar, 1879)
  • Ellis Cook listed among the delegates at all five sessions of the Provincial Congress:  Pages 169, 183-184, 197, 325, 445
  • Record of the application made to commission Ellis Cook a Lt. Colonel, on January 13, 1776:  Pages 336 - 338
Available to be read at the Internet Archive here

9. ^ Ellis Cook is listed as a delegate from Morris County in the Votes and Proceedings of the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey published for the following sessions during the Revolutionary War years.
Available to be read at the Internet Archive at these links:

• First Session, Begun August 27, 1776

• Second Session, Begun October 28, 1777

• Fourth Session, Begun October 26, 1779

• Sixth Session, Begun October 23, 1781

• Seventh Session, Begun October 22, 1782

Cook continued to serve in the General Assembly after the Revolutionary War. He was a delegate from Morris County in every session from 1783 until 1790.

10. ^ Dates from Colonel Cook's grave at the Hanover Presbyterian Church Cemetery