Halfway Brook

The Congregational Church of Narrows Falls was started by Rev. Isaac Sergeant in August 1799. One hundred years later the church was still in existence as the Congregational Church of Eldred.

Centennial services were held in the church built in 1835 when Felix Kyte was the pastor. The first meeting was Friday, August 11, 1899, at 2 p.m.

The newspaper article, A Century of Church Life in the Tri-States Union, was in my mother’s wonderful collection.

The Methodist Pastor Rev. S.O. Rusby read Psalm 84. Words of welcome were offered by the Congregational Pastor, Rev. Joel F. Whitney.

Children, including Minnie Sergeant, a descendant of Rev. Isaac Sergeant, read scripture. Minnie’s father Isaac Sergeant was a deacon and Sunday School Superintendent.

Two of Rev. Felix Kyte’s sons spoke. Felix J.S. Kyte told of the family’s travels to the area in 1832. Rev. Joseph Kyte remembered the “roast beef” at the Covert’s house in Glen Spey was “bear meat.”

Jacob Stage, 93, remembered one of the first members, Deacon Ichabod Carmichael. Continue reading →

Washington
President McKinley left Washington at eight o’clock this morning for Richmond, Va., where he will attend the launching of the torpedo boat Shubrick. Several members of the Cabinet were in the party. The weather was extremely inclement, a cold rain falling.

Hackettstown, New Jersey
Seminary Building Burned
The Hackettstown Seminary building owned by the Newark conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, was completely destroyed by fire this morning, entailing a loss of about $300,000, on which there in only $150,000 insurance. The structure was of brick, 250 feet long, 100 feet in width, and 6 stories in height. It was located in the outskirts of the town.

Two hundred students, half of them females, occupied rooms in the building. All escaped uninjured, but not more than a quarter of them were able to save their clothing and other belongings.

The janitor who had returned to the basement of the seminary about 12:30 o’clock this morning from a tour of inspection that occupied nearly an hour of his time, found the lower portion of the structure filled with smoke. When he reached the boiler room, he discovered it to be in flames. An alarm was sounded and the work of getting the students
out begun.

Everything was done quietly and effectively as there were about 200 students, teachers and employees in the building and these are all accounted for…

The building is entirely ruined…It is assumed that the building will be reconstructed as soon as possible.

[Mort Austin attended Cenenary Collegiate College in Hackettstown, New Jersey, in 1891.]