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JAMES CHIDESTER EGBERT
Originally published in 1900 |
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JAMES CHIDESTER EGBERT, D.D., for forty-two years the beloved pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of West Hoboken, N. J.,
and now pastor emeritus of that society, is a lineal descendant of James
Egbert, who was born in 1695. His paternal ancestors were Germans,
coming from Saxony or Hanover to this country several generations ago.
Lewis Egbert, a member of his branch, served in the Revolutionary War.
Dr. Egbert's father, James Egbert, was the son of Enos Egbert and Sarah
Lyon, both natives of New Jersey, and was born at Elizabeth, in this State,
in 1801. He learned the trade of printer in the office of the
Palladium
of
Liberty at Morristown, N. J., and, moving to New York, became a partner
of Mahlon Day, one of the earliest printers in that city and for many years
the publisher of the weekly Bank Note List
. Mr. Day, with his wife and
daughter, was lost at sea on the ill-fated ship Arctic
. James Egbert succeeded to the firm's business, and for nearly fifty years conducted a large
and successful printing establishment in New York on Pearl Street, opposite Frankfort. He finally retired, and died in West Hoboken, N. J., November 17, 1881, having settled there about 1867. His father, Enos, was
a blacksmith and iron founder, and also a native of Elizabeth. James
Egbert married Joanna Jones Chidester, daughter of James and Peninah
(Guerin) Chidester, all of whom were born in New Jersey. She died in
1866.
Dr. Egbert was born in New York City on the 17th of October, 1826, and there received his education. He attended one of the public grammar schools and then taught for four years in the same institution. Afterward he continued his studies and also taught in the private school of Professor John Jason Owen, of New York, and in 1848, having received a thorough preparatory training there, entered New York University, then under the presidency of Theodore Frelinghuysen. He was graduated with honors in 1852, receiving the degree of B.A., and on March 4, 1889, the university conferred upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity in recognition of his eminence as a minister and of his learning and standing as a scholar. In 1852 Dr. Egbert began the study of theology at the Union Theological Seminary in New York. He was graduated from that institu- tion in April, 1855, and licensed to preach by the Third Presbytery of New York on the 11th of the same month. On June 13, 1855, he was ordained pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of West Hoboken, N. J., and continued in that capacity for forty-two consecutive years, resigning June 13, 1897. Soon afterward he was made pastor emeritus of the congregation. This church was organized June 12, 1850, with eight members, and the church edifice was dedicated June 25, 1851. For four years Rev. Charles Parker supplied the pulpit, and through his efforts, and with the aid of Rev. William Bradford, then editor of the New York Evangelist, the church building was erected. Dr. Egbert was their first settled pastor, and faithfully and diligently discharged the duties of the trust, gaining not only the love but the confidence and affection of the entire community as well as of his own parishioners. From a very small congregation he built it up to a membership of over 435 and the Sunday school to 500 scholars, with a chapel in Jersey City of about 250 members. The society made a strong effort to retain him as their active pastor, but advancing years and the evident need of rest impelled him to resign, and the pastorate has since been under Rev. Charles Alexander Evans, a graduate of Princeton, class of 1884. As pastor emeritus, however, Dr. Egbert continues to exercise a broad and wholesome influence in the church. He has twice been Moderator of the Presbytery of Jersey City, is a member of the Associate Alumni and of the Alumni Club of the Union Theological Seminary, and is known throughout the State and in other Presbyteries as a man of broad culture, of great learning, and of fine intellectual attainments. His sermons, many of which have been published, bear evidence of high literary skill as well as sound logic and doctrinal knowledge. Dr. Egbert was married, August 1, 1855, to Harriet Louise Drew, daughter of George and Philinda Drew, of New York City. Their children are Annie Lake Egbert, a teacher in the New York public schools; James C. Egbert, Jr., professor of Latin in Columbia College, New York; Rev. George Drew Egbert, pastor of the Presbyterian Church at Cornwall, N. Y.; and Marion Dupuy Egbert, also a teacher in the New York public schools. Two other children died in infancy.
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