Person:Robert Kelsay (5)

The Rev. Robert Kelsay was born in the year 1711 near the town of Dromore in County Down, Northern Ireland. I do not have the proof at this time, but feel certain that his father's name was "William Kelsay". The reason for this being because there was a "William Kellsay" residing in the small town of Ballycross (City of the Cross) in 1711. This was in County Down and not far from Dromore. Also, Rev. Robert named his first-born son "William". It was the practice in those days to pass on family names, and the old Scotch naming pattern dictated that the oldest son be named after his paternal grandfather. As a first-born son occupied a very important position in the family, it is likely that Rev. Robert would only have named him after his own father, and followed the naming pattern. Rev. Robert was probably a second generation Irish as he was of Scotch ancestry. His grandfather probably moved from Scotland and settled in Northern Ireland in the middle 1600's. Their religion was of the Protestant denomination and was most likely of the Presbyterian faith. In 1734, at the age of twenty-three years, Robert decided to migrate to the British colonies in North America. The Test Act of 1704 was very hard on Presbyterians, and then a very severe drought ruined the crops in 1715. In 1716, "sheep rot", a disease of the feet, wiped out whole flocks. Absentee English landlords, who lived in England, did not know or care what was happening on their lands in Northern Ireland, and kept increasing rents. Also, trouble was brewing between the Irish Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland, and fighting and killing was becoming a common practice. By 1717, what had began as a trickle in 1702, became a great migration of Ulster Presbyterians to the English Colonies in the new world, which would continue for several years. Robert probably felt there were more opportunities in the new world. His older brother, John had already migrated and was living in Pennsylvania, and I am sure there was other family members as well that had migrated before Robert did. He was young, and the adventures of sailing across thousands of miles of water and settling in the colonies was also probably a big factor in his decision. I do not know at this time if he came alone or with other members of his family, but strongly suspect he either came with some family members. I very seriously doubt that he came alone, because there is evidence of other Kelsay's that were no doubt related to Robert that lived and died in Cumberland County, New Jersey and they were too old to be Robert's descendants. Ephriam Sheppard, who was born in Cumberland County, NJ on May 21, 1723 and died there on May 8, 1783 at the age of 60 years, married Keziah Kelsay as his first wife. This woman was probably born about 1724 and was without a doubt related to Robert in some manner. Very likely a sister or niece. She apparently died shortly after her marriage to Ephriam Sheppard, as he married Sarah Dennis as his second wife and after her death, he married Rebecca Barrett as his third wife. There was a George Kelsay that lived in the Cumberland County area also, that was too old to be one of Robert's children. I noticed a George Kellsay in Northern Ireland that was of Scottish ancestry, and was there as early as the middle 1600's.

Robert arrived in Maryland in the year 1734. He disembarked from the tall, three masted sailing ship where the present seaport of Baltimore is located. It normally took about two and one half months to sail from Ireland to the east coast of America in those days. Disease was often rampant on these ships, and many people died on every trip. His whereabouts from the time he landed in Maryland in 1734 until he settled in Cohansey (Later, Cumberland County, New Jersey) in 1738 are unknown. Undoubtedly he spent that four years somewhere in close proximity. Probably in Lancaster County, PA with his older brother John Kelsay, who had came over from Ireland about 1728. At any rate, Robert was twenty-seven years old when he arrived in Cumberland County, New Jersey, which at that time was called "Cohansey". From 1710 to 1748, Cumberland County was a part of Salem County, NJ, at which time it was formed from part of Salem County. It was named after the Duke of Cumberland in England. For a time, the land on the north side of the Cohansey River was called "North Cohansey", and the south side of the river was called "South Cohansey". Later, the area was just called "Cohansey". As early as 1638, south New Jersey was inhabited by Swedes and Finns and, of course, Indians! The Duke of York acquired the area for England, and transferred it to Lord Berkeley and Sir George Carteret. John Fenwick was born in England in 1618 and joined the Society of Friends in 1665. He purchased West New Jersey from Lord Berkely in 1673, and set sail around the middle of July, 1675 for New Jersey, on the ship "Griffith". He arrived on October 4, 1675, and anchored near the mouth of the Salem River. Fenwick established the town of "Salem", which signifies peace, and is still located in the Township of Salem, NJ to this day. He offered inducements for others to come from England to live in his Colony, which was called "Fenwick's Colony". Many people from England purchased land from Fenwick and joined his colony. Most of them were Quakers like John Fenwick, and they settled there in south west New Jersey, and prospered and opened schools for education. The great migration of Ulster/Scots to America would begin in earnest in 1717, and they would come by the thousands for many years!

Robert Kelsay joined the Cohansey Baptist Church shortly after his arrival in Cohansey, and was soon recognized for his industry and dedication to the church. Possessing a high degree of intelligence, a good sense of humor, and a fervent and sincere desire to help bring his fellow man closer to the ways of the Lord. Robert was baptized by the church in 1741. In 1743 he was asked by the Church to become a Licentiate, and accepted. In the same year, the brethren at Pittsgrove Mission (then known as Piles grove) made application to the mother Church at Cohansey for Robert Kelsay to come and live there in order to supply them. The request was granted by the Church on the condition that he would return when they saw the occasion. Under these conditions, Robert moved to the Branch at Pittsgrove to begin his ministerial duties there in the year of 1743. The Pittsgrove Church is located in the Township of Upper Pittsgrove in Salem county, New Jersey, near Daretown. Immediately upon his arrival, Robert directed his efforts to having a good and substantial meeting-house built. This frame meeting-house was constructed in the same year of his arrival, and then Robert prepared the Church covenant, which consisted of ten articles. This covenant was used until 1867, when, to be in conformity with sister churches, the manual by J. Newton Brown was adopted. Toward the later part of 1743, Robert could relax his labors a little. The new meeting-house had been built, he had added several new members to the church, and he was beginning to get things pretty well organized. He was thirty-two years old now, and a certain young lady by the name of, Miriam Smith, was beginning to interest him very much. Miriam Smith was twenty years old (having been born in 1723) and was twelve years his junior, but their age did not seem so big a gap, as Robert was blessed with eternal youth and excellent health. They were married in 1744 and she was to bear him eight children; four boys and four girls. Robert was ordained by the Church in 1750 and was to remain pastor until his death in 1789. Rev. Robert was well liked by his congregation at Pittsgrove, and the Church grew in numbers and prospered. He worked hard and had a strong desire to see the Pittsgrove Mission become a distinct Chruch. (a few years later, in 1771, he would be privileged to see this come to pass) On June 2, 1754, Mr. Jenkins, who had been preaching at the Mother Church at Cohansey, died. On his death-bed he recommended to the elders of the Church that they call Rev. Robert Kelsay to take his place.

The offer of the pastorate at the Mother Church in Cohansey was an exceptional honor to be tendered to a Mission Pastor. Not only for the prestige, but there would be a substantial pay raise from an annual salary of forty pounds (about 160 dollars) to an annual salary of one hundred pounds (about 400 dollars). A hundred pounds salary in 1754 was a very generous wage indeed. However, Rev. Robert had been living and preaching at the Pittsgrove Mission now for about twelve years. He had formed many strong friendships with the members of his congregation and was hesitate to leave them. He declined the offer and recommended his good friend and fellow pastor, Rev. Job Sheppard, to the prestigious post at the Mother Church. Rev. Job Sheppard and Rev. Robert Kelsay had been close friends for many years. They had both been licensed by the Church at the same time, and Rev. Sheppard had gone to the Mission Church at Mill Hollow the same year that Rev. Robert had gone to Pittsgrove. The Mill Hollow mission was to be later constituted as "Salem, First". At any rate, fate finally took a hand. In April 1756, the Kelsay dwelling-house at Pittsgrove was destroyed by fire. The call from the Mother Church at Cohansey was renewed and this time Rev. Robert accepted. He had been living at Pittsgrove in Salem County now for a period of about thirteen years and six of his children had been born there to him and his wife Miriam. During these thirteen years, Rev. Robert and the members of the Pittsgrove mission always traveled to the Mother Church at Cohansey for communion services on the first Sunday of each month. This journey required about a two hour ride by horse and buggy from Salem County to Cumberland County, and the weather in New Jersey in the winter can get rather cold sometimes to say the least! The members from the Pittsgrove mission probably traveled on the "King's Highway" to Cumberland County, as this was an old road that had been built in 1681 from Burlington, NJ to Salem, NJ.

On May 18, 1756, Rev. Robert took his family and moved to Cohansey to take charge of the Mother Church. An unfortunate circumstance had also occurred when the Kelsay home was burned in Salem County. Rev. Robert had been keeping the old records of the Cohansey Church at his home, and they were destroyed along with the house. Rev. Robert commenced a new pastoral register in 1757. It is a large folio and contains a list of the members at that time, which numbered one hundred and six in 1757. This register, which was written in Rev. Robert's hand, was still being retained by the Cohansey Church when I visited there in 1976. The new Cohansey Church, which was built in 1802 at Roadstown in Cumberland County, still has the old communion table that was used by Rev. Robert at the old Cohansey Church at lower Hopewell. The front door step is also still there. On March 2, 1757, Rev. Robert was shocked and saddened by the death of his very close friend, Rev. Job Sheppard. Rev. Sheppard was fifty-one years old at his death, and he and Rev. Robert Kelsay had been close friends since they were young men. Nine years after his death, Rev. Sheppard's daughter, Keziah, would marry Rev. Robert's eldest son, William.

On April 27, 1757, a farm one hundred and seven acres was bought by the church to serve as a parsonage. It was situated at Bowentown, and was retained by the Church until September 6, 1785, when it was sold to David Bowen. It would later become the farm of John S. Holmes. When I visited Cumberland County in 1976 there was a very old red brick, two storied house still standing at Bowentown. It was then owned by the nearby Sunny Slope Farms, but was being occupied by a young couple by the name of John M. Half. I took pictures of the house and Mrs. Half and her daughter were very friendly and showed me through the house. It was a beautiful old house with two stairways leading down from the upstairs and several fireplaces. The mortar holding the bricks was so old and deteriorated however that the Half family would not chance building a fire in any of the fireplaces. The house was without a doubt built in the 1700's and possibly might have been the parsonage house that Rev. Robert lived in while he was there at Bowentown. A title check at the court house in Bridgetown might confirm this, but I did not have the time. A neighbor that lived across the road at Bowentown told me that the Holmes family that use to live there had been murdered by their hired hand.

The records show that Rev. Robert Kelsay lived in the parsonage in Bowentown for twenty-five years or better. Bowentown was situated in Hopewell Township in Cumberland County at the intersection of the Greenwich and Barret Run Roads. His two youngest children, daughter, Rachel, born in 1757 and son, David, born in 1759, were both born at the parsonage at Bowentown. Rev. Robert Kelsay was a taxable in Hopewell Township until 1782. Also he was a witness for several Wills during the period of time from 1756 until 1782 from Hopewell Township. He married Captain Bowen and Sarah Daniel on December 31, 1766 in Hopewell Township. On May 24, 1782 is when Rev. Robert moved from Hopewell Township to the nearby township of Stow Creek. He was a resident of Stow Creek Township on October 25, 1782 when he witnessed a Will for Eldad Cook. On November 26, 1785, Rev. Robert and his son, William, were both living in Stow Creek Township and were witnesses for Ananias Sayre. So apparently Rev. Robert left the parsonage at Bowentown in the summer of 1782 and moved to Stow Creek Township, even though the Church was to still own it until September 6, 1785. The records for the Pennsylvania Gazette, dated October 13, 1763, number 1816, lists a letter for Rev. Robert Kelsay of Cumberland County, New Jersey remaining in the Post Office at Philadelphia. Again on March 15,1764, the Pennsylvania Gazette, #1838, listed a letter in the Philadelphia Post Office for Rev. Robert Kelsay of New Jersey.

You may ask why Rev. Robert Kelsay was receiving mail at the Philadelphia Post Office in Pennsylvania instead of New Jersey where he resided. The simple answer to that question is that the Philadelphia Post Office was the ONLY Post Office in existence then! Benjamin Franklin, as you remember, started the Post Office system. He became the Deputy Postmaster General in charge of the mails in all the northern colonies in 1753. Benjamin Franklin was also the publisher of the Pennsylvania Gazette which was listing the information concerning the mail for Rev. Robert Kelsay. As it was a very long and slow process to have a letter delivered by sailing ship to a person in the Colonies in those days, the person or persons writing Rev. Robert Kelsay was probably some close kin still residing in Northern Ireland. When Rev. Morgan Edwards, A.M., published his book in 1792 concerning the New Jersey Baptists, he had a letter from Rev. Robert Kelsay that indicated that he returned to Ireland for a visit in 1767. Rev Robert Kelsay told Rev Edwards that the Cohansey Church in New Jersey was founded about 1683 by some Baptists from the County of Tipperary in Ireland. The Mother Church back in Ireland was called; "Cleagh Keating" and was still in flourishing condition in 1767 when he visited that country. On March 31, 1838, a letter and hymn-book was sent from Cleagh Keating Church in Ireland to it's daughter Church, Cohansey in Cumberland County, New Jersey. The letter asked about the rise and progress of the Cohansey Church and requested a reply from the Pastor, Rev. Henry Smalley. Sometime after 1838 Cleagh Keating became extinct. It was a Baptist Church located in Southern Ireland, so we might guess what some of the contributing factors might have been.

After Rev. Robert became pastor of the Cohansey Church situated in Hopewell Township, he also began preaching at the court-house in Bridgeton (County seat of Cumberland County). Ebenezer Elmer recorded in his journal that Rev. Robert Kelsay preached at the court-house in Bridgeton on October 29, 1775 and also on December 3, 1775. this practice was continued by his successor, Rev. Henry Smalley, and finally the First Baptist Church of Bridgeton was built, owing it's origin to the Cohansey Baptist Church and the efforts of Rev. Robert Kelsay and Rev. Henry Smalley.

On January 8, 1785, Rev. Robert Kelsay was saddened with grief over the loss of his dearly beloved wife of forty years. Miriam (Smith) Kelsay was sixty-two years old at her death and her body was interred at the Cohansey Baptist Burying Ground in Hopewell Township. Her tombstone with it's engraved inscription was still in good condition when I visited the cemetery in 1976.

In all probability, Rev. Robert spent the last years of his life living with his son, William Kelsay, Esq. and family. There were even some indications that William might have resided with Rev. Robert at the parsonage in Bowentown after his marriage to Keziah Sheppard in 1776. When the war with England broke out and William became a Captain with the Continental Army and later a Paymaster in the New Jersey Militia, he was busy and gone a lot, so it was likely that his wife and family resided with Rev. Robert.

In the year 1788, the Philadelphia Association (of Baptist churches) held a conference in Philadelphia. Rev. Robert Kelsay was seventy-seven years old then, but preached at it's session to the young ministers from Acts 8:35. He advised them: 1. To study with earnest prayer as if it all depended upon their own endeavors; but in preaching to depend on Divine assistance as though they had not studied at all. 2. To be concise in preaching and to conclude when done. 3. To pray for a blessing immediately after preaching. These were extracts taken from Rev. Robert's sermon, and a memorial was recorded in the minutes of that Philadelphia Association conference of 1788 to him. The following year, March 1789, Rev. Robert Kelsay grew ill and he knew his time was nearly gone in this life. On March 23, 1789, he wrote his Last Will and Testament. About two months later, on May 30, 1789, he died. He was seventy-eight years old at death, and was interred beside his beloved wife in the Cohansey Church Burying Ground in Hopewell Township, Cumberland County, New Jersey. He had been pastor at the Cohansey Baptist Church for thirty-three years, and at the Mission Branch at Pittsgrove in Salem County for thirteen years. He had traveled about by buggy and horseback all his life, and had preached for more than forty-five years in churches in the dead of winter that did not have any heat what-so-ever. A heating stove was installed in the Cohansey Church shortly after Rev. Kelsay's death in 1789. The early baptists had to bundle up good with heavy clothes and bring warming stones with them to church. Through-out his life, Rev. Robert enjoyed good health and a vigorous constitution, and his mental facilities were alert until the time of his death. A life of seventy-eight years was rare in those days too. Below is the obituary of the Rev. Robert Kelsay, as printed in The Pennsylvania Gazette on July 15, 1789:

"On Saturday, the 30th of May last, the Rev. ROBERT KELSAY, Pastor of the Baptist Church at Cohansie, New Jersey, departed this life, aged SEVENTY-EIGHT years; forty-six of which he was a most faithful labourer in the Gospel Ministry; thirty-three years he had the special charge of Cohansie Church, during which time he baptized and added to it, on a profession of their faith, 176 members; many others, in divers places, where he occasionally visited, were thro' him, as an instrument, brought to know the truth as it is in JESUS.

--As a man, and companion, he was amusing and instructive; as a Christian, animated and exemplary; as a preacher, fervent and truly orthodox; warmly engaged in the service of the SANCTUARY, he repaired thither, without intermission, in order to publish the glad tidings of peace and salvation, 'till a very few Lord's Days previous to his decease.--

He continued on this stage of action to a good old age, greatly and dearly beloved by ALL who knew him, of every religious community; he died sincerely lamented, which was evidenced by the very solemn attendance of an amazing concourse of people, of all descriptions, at his funeral, the Monday following his demise.--"

"Sure! The last end Of the good man is PEACE. How calm his EXIT! Oh! How HE long'd To have his passport sign'd, and be dismiss'd! 'Tis done; and KELSAY'S happy: His glad SOUL Has not a wish uncrown'd--Ev'n his lag FLESH Rests too in hope, of meeting once again It's better half, never to sunder more! Nor shall it hope in vain.--"

A contemporary said: "Mr. Kelsay had the genial qualities of the Irish, to which was added fervent piety and great earnestness in his ministry. He was a man of order and set himself to make up deficiencies."

Another contemporary said: "The early records of the Church being lost, the first register of which we have any knowledge was commenced by him in 1757. It is a large folio bound in parchment and contains the earliest statistics extant. Everything pertaining to the general record of the Church was kept with scrupulous exactness."

With respect to the results of his ministry, the Cohansey Church membership in the first decade increased from one hundred and six to one hundred and thirty-one, despite deaths, removals and a colony to form Dividing Creek Church in 1761. During the third decade of Rev. Kelsay's ministry, was included the Revolutionary War. This was indeed a trying period of time. The New Jersey colony being a highway of the contending armies and the harbors being a refuge for the English fleets, and it's seacoast and rivers were patrolled by warships to destroy the commerce. In spite of the trying times, however, in 1781 and 1782, Rev. Kelsay baptized sixty-eight people. A historical sketch compiled by Frank D. Andrews, Secretary Vineland Historical and Antiquarian Society, in 1911 says this: "Rev. Robert Kelsay, an Irishman by birth, succeeded Mr. Jenkins in 1756. He is said to have been a man of genial character, witty and instructive in conversation, fervent in piety, orthodox in doctrines and faithful in labor. Through his records we have some knowledge regarding the affairs of the church during his ministry."

There is not much I could add to the above quotes from the mouths of people that actually knew Rev. Robert Kelsay, except to say that I am proud to be the 5th great grandson of a man that was so well thought of by his contemporaries and who accomplished so much good in his life on this earth. He must have indeed been a fine person. The next year after Rev. Robert's death in 1789, a census was taken of all of the citizens in the United States. The population of the U.S. in 1790 was 3,929,625. The population of Cumberland County, NJ in 1790 was 8, 248. In 1748, there was less then 3,000 people in Cumberland County. The descendants of Rev. Robert Kelsay and his brother John, have now spread from the east coast of America to the west coast, and number in the thousands! With stubborn independence and fierce determination, the Scots/Irish were usually the first to move west and open up new lands for farming and occupation.

Rev. Robert Kelsay stated in his letter to Rev. Morgan Edwards that his children had married into the families of: Sheppards, Bowens, Dares, Heatons, Reeves, Smiths, Pagets, and raised him thirty-three grandchildren. No doubt there were more grandchildren born after his death in 1789 though. Indeed, probably even after he had written the letter to Rev. Morgan Edwards, which was probably quite some time prior to his death. Rev. Robert Kelsay's original handwritten Will is located in the State Library at Trenton, New Jersey, in the Archives and History Bureau. Three of his daughters and one of his sons were not mentioned in the Will because they had died prior to 1789. William Kelsay, Esq. was to die three years after his father. Rev. Robert left provisions in his Will that all of his grandchildren would be presented a bible from him. This was to include any that had not been born at the time of his death too. The two grandsons, that were mentioned by name in the Will and were left other valuable items besides a bible, was named "Robert" after their grandfather. You don't suppose he had a particular soft spot in his heart for these two grandsons, do you? Even the minister that was to preach at his funeral was thought of. He was to be presented a small book in 12s called "The Fort Royal of the Scriptures" which had been a gift to him from Samuel Burklo in the year 1760.

Rev. Robert Kelsay's body was laid to rest beside his beloved wife, Miriam, in accordance with his wish and desire, and may his soul always remain at peace in Paradise!

1. ↑ Honeyman, A. Van Doren, and William Nelson. Calendar of New Jersey wills. (New Jersey, 1900-1931)
   21 Dec 1775.

   Surety: 4. 1771, July 19. Long, Grace, of Stow Creek Township, Cumberland Co., widow of Peter Long; will of. Grandson, Jonathon Long, 5 shillings. Grandson Uriah Long, 16 [Crowns], to give him schooling. Grandson, Peter Long, 5 shillings. Granddaughter, Lyda Gilman, 5 shillings. Daughters, Elenor Shepherd and Pleasant Newcomb, rest of my estate. Executor - son-in-law, William Newcomb. Witnesses - Robert Kelsay, Miriam Kelsay. Proved Dec 21, 1775.

2. ↑ http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=59988092