Theodorus Jacobus Frelinghuysen
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Theodorus Jacobus Frelinghuysen (1691 – c. 1747) was a Dutch-American theologian.
Contents
Birth, marriage and children
He was born in 1691 in Lingden, East Friesland, Netherlands to Johannes Henrich Frelinghaus, a Minister. He married Eva Terhune (1708-?) of Flatbush, Long Island and had the following children:- Theodorus Jacobus Frelinghuysen II (1724-1761) aka Theodore Jacob Frelinghuysen, who was a Minister
- John Frelinghuysen (1727-1754) aka Johannes Frelinghuysen, who was a Minister that married Dinah Van Berr and was the father of Frederick Frelinghuysen (1753–1804)
- Jacobus Frelinghuysen (c1730-1753) aka Jacob Frelinghuysen, who was a Minister that died at sea
- Ferdinandus Frelinghuysen (c1732-1753) aka Ferdinand Frelinghuysen, who was a Minister that died at sea
- Henricus Frelinghuysen (c1735-1757) aka Henry Frelinghuysen, who was a Minister that died in Ulster County, New York
- Margaret Frelinghuysen (1737-1757) who married Thomas F. Romeyn, who was a Minister in 1756
- Anna Frelinghuysen (1738-1810) who married William Jackson, who was a Minister
Education and emigration
He graduated from the University of Lingen and was ordained as a minister of the Dutch Reformed Church in 1715. For a short time he was a minister in Belgium. In January of 1720, he and Jacobus Schuurman, a friend, immigrated to the British colony of New Jersey. Frelinghuysen served as minister to several of the Reformed Dutch Churches in the Raritan River valley of New Jersey until his death in 1747 or 1748.The Encyclopedia of New Jersey states:
Loyal to the Heidelberg Catechism, he emphasized pietism, conversion, repentance, strict moral standards, private devotions, excommunication, and church discipline. An eloquent preacher who published numerous sermons, he struggled against indifferentism and empty formalism. His theories conflicted with the orthodox views of Henry Boel and others, who challenged Frelinghuysen's religious emotionalism and unauthorized practices. As one of the fearless missionaries of the first Great Awakening in America, Frelinghuysen stressed tangible religious experiences. He trained young men for the clergy, often ordaining them without permission. His evangelical fervor and autonomous actions helped to instill an element of local independence for Dutch churches in North America's middle colonies.
Death and burial
He died in 1747 or 1748 in Franklin Township, Somerset County, New Jersey and was buried at Elm Ridge Cemetery, New Brunswick, New Jersey. His cenotaph lies in the very back of the Elm Ridge Cemetery in its own row, trees grow directly behind it and the inscription faces the woods and cannot be read from the cemetery. He was originally buried without a grave marker and the location of his grave within the cemetery is unknown. The cenotaph was erected at a later date.Quote
- "You have lived twenty, thirty, forty, fifty years, some longer, and walked in the way that seems right in your eyes. But now you are nearer to eternity, and God is warning you not to proceed any further in your own ways."
Timeline
- 1691 Born in Lingen on the Elms
- 1717 Licensed by the Classis of Emden
- 1718 Chapain at the Logumer Voorwerk in East Friesland, and the Subrector at Enkhuizen on the Zuiderzee in West Friesland
- 1720 Pastor of congregations at Raritan, New Brunswick, Six-Mile Run, Three-Mile Run, and North Branch in the Raritan Valley in New Jersey.
- 1747 (circa) Death
External links
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