Theodorus Jacobus Frelinghuysen

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Theodorus Jacobus Frelinghuysen
Cenotaph in Elm Ridge Cemetery, North Brunswick
Born	1691 Lingen, East Friesland
Died	circa 1747 Franklin Township, Somerset County, New Jersey
Occupation	Theologian
Spouse	Eva Terhune (1708-?)
Parents	Johannes Henrich Frelinghaus
Children	Theodorus Jacobus II (1724-1761) John Jacobus (c.1730-1753) Ferdinandus (c.1732-1753) Henricus (c.1735-1757) Margaret Anna (1738-1810)

Theodorus Jacobus Frelinghuysen (1691 – c. 1747) was a Dutch-American minister, theologian and the progenitor of the Frelinghuysen family in the United States of America. Several of Frelinghuysen's descendants became influential theologians and politicians throughout American history.

[edit] Biography

He was born in 1691 in Lingen, East Friesland, now a part of Germany, to Johannes Henrich Frelinghaus, a Minister. He married Eva Terhune (1708-?) of Flatbush, Long Island and had seven children: Theodorus Jacobus II (1724-1761) John (1727-1754), Jacobus (c. 1730-1753), Ferdinandus (c. 1732-1753), Henricus (c. 1735-1757), Margaret, and Anna (1738-1810). Major General Frederick Frelinghuysen, a hero of the American Revolution, was his grandson through his son John.^[1] All five sons became ministers and both daughters married ministers.

Frelinghuysen 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 1720, he and Jacobus Schuurman, a friend, emigrated to the Province of New Jersey, a British colony in North America. Frelinghuysen served as minister to several of the Reformed Dutch Churches (congregations at Raritan, New Brunswick, Six-Mile Run, Three-Mile Run, and North Branch) in the Raritan River valley of New Jersey which he served 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.

He died in 1747 or 1748 in Franklin Township, Somerset County, New Jersey and was buried at Elm Ridge Cemetery, North Brunswick, New Jersey. He was originally buried without a tombstone, and when it was decided to place a stone on his grave, it could not be determined where his body was interred. A cenotaph was placed in the front of the cemetery.

[edit] References

^ Margaret Frelinghuysen (1737-1757) married Thomas F. Romeyn (1729-1794), a reverend

Tanis, James. Dutch Calvinistic Pietism in the Middle Colonies: A Study in the Life and Theology of Theodorus Jacobus Frelinghuysen. Reviewed in William and Mary Quarterly, 3rd Series, Volume 26, Number 2 (April, 1969), 297-299.
Schrag F.J. "Theodorus Jacobus Frelinghuysen: The Father of American Pietism" in Church History, Vol. 14, No. 3 (September, 1945), 201-216.
Forerunner of the Great Awakening: Sermons by Theodorus Jacobus Frelinghuysen ISBN 0-8028-4899-0