John Frelinghuysen (1727 – September 5, 1754) also known as Johannes Frelinghuysen was a minister in colonial New Jersey whose work in education laid the groundwork for the establishment

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...

(as ''Queen's College'' in 1766) and the

New Brunswick Theological Seminary New Brunswick Theological Seminary is a Reformed Christian seminary with its main campus in New Brunswick, New Jersey. It was founded in 1784 and is one of the oldest seminaries in the United States. It is a seminary of the Reformed Church in Ame ...

(in 1784).

Biography

John Frelinghuysen was the second son of

Theodorus Jacobus Frelinghuysen Theodorus Jacobus Frelinghuysen ( – ) was a Dutch-American Dutch Reformed minister, theologian and the progenitor of the Frelinghuysen family in the United States of America. Frelinghuysen is most remembered for his religious contribution ...

(1691–1749), a German who had lived for a short time in

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...

before emigrating in 1720. John married Dinah Van Bergh (1725–1807), and they had two children: Eva Frelinghuysen (1751 – c. 1826), Frederick Frelinghuysen (1753–1804), who became a major general in the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

. John preached in the revivalistic style of Calvinism that his father was known for as part of the

First Great Awakening The First Great Awakening (sometimes Great Awakening) or the Evangelical Revival was a series of Christian revivals that swept Britain and its thirteen North American colonies in the 1730s and 1740s. The revival movement permanently affecte ...

. He continued to serve the parishes in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

that his father had served at Raritan, Millstone, and North Branch. John lived in the

Old Dutch Parsonage The Old Dutch Parsonage is a historical house built in 1751, moved about 1913 and now located at 65 Washington Place, Somerville, Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 25 ...

in Somerville where he served the three local congregations until his death. He took in students and a room in the house served as a

Dutch Reformed The Dutch Reformed Church (, abbreviated NHK) was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century until 1930. It was the original denomination of the Dutch Royal Family and ...

religious seminary. This center of education was a forerunner of the

and Queen's College, which later developed into

.The Founding of Queen's College
From "Seminary of Learning" to Public Research University: A Historical Sketch of Rutgers University, by Thomas J. Frusciano, University Archivist, Rutgers University Libraries. Retrieved February 6, 2012.
, Raritan Public Library. Retrieved February 6, 2012. John died on September 5, 1754 and was buried at the Old Somerville Cemetery.

Children

John married Dinah VanBerg and had the following children: * Eva Frelinghuysen (1751 – c. 1826), who married Casparus Van Nostrand * Frederick Frelinghuysen (1753–1804), major general who was buried in Weston, New Jersey.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Frelinghuysen, John 1727 births 1754 deaths 18th-century Calvinist and Reformed ministers

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

People from Somerville, New Jersey American people of Dutch descent Reformed Church in America ministers People of colonial New Jersey American people of German descent 18th-century American clergy