Famous Belleville Citizens You Should Know

Gerardus Haughhort

      We are a town uncommonly rich in folk-heroes, giants among men.  It has been so since our earliest days. Reaching far back to our village's colonial era, we find here a man who could well be the most notable of  the many folk-heroes to emerge during this period. That would be no one less than the good Reverend Gerardus Haughhort (pronounced jer-ARD-us HAG-ort) of the old Dutch Church.  He was a God-fearing, hard-kicking, tenacious as a bulldog sort of fellow. He was known to be hot-headed and short-tempered, a man with whom you would not take issue unless you were ready to fend-off a fiery verbal tirade. Never-the-less, he was an eloquent persuader of men.  It could be argued, and I sometimes have, that he was personally responsible for beginning the American Revolution.  He never carried a sword or a musket, but he wielded a wicked goose quill and made effective use of it along with a commanding knowledge of rhetoric.

      Since the notion that the American Revolution may have begun in Second River runs contrary to what is printed in most high school history books, we need to take a closer look at it to see if there is any truth in it.  Of course, it relies entirely on the belief that the pen is indeed mightier than the sword.  The Reverend Haughhort fought all of his battles with a feathered rapier, ink and blazing language. It was with those weapons that he brought our Village of Second River to the forefront, center-stage, in revolutionary politics

      Born and educated in Holland, then commissioned to work in the American colonies, he was first sent to Freehold, NJ.  Word of his impressive talent spread quickly. After serving in Monmouth County for two years, Rev. Haughhort received a call from the congregation at Second River. At the request of Col. John Schuyler and other prominent families of the village, in 1735, he came to our town. He had adjusted quickly to his new life in the colonies. Glad to be here and filled with ideological ambitions, within two years, Rev. Haughhort was deeply involved in the politics of the time. 

      At issue was the day-to-day operations of the colonial church. The population in the colonies was experiencing explosive growth, management of affairs was a struggle. Decisions at any level could not be made in the colonies, only by the European church-masters.    Every action required a report and consent.  Every dispute was arbitrated in Holland.  All communications were written, sent to Holland by sailing ship, consideration by the European authorities would take place, then a decision transmitted by sea to the colonials.  A simple exchange of question and answer could take six months under the best of conditions and often much longer.

      Gerardus Haughhort formed the opinion, the radical notion, the revolutionary idea, that those living in the colonies ought to be able to attend to their own affairs and not answer to European authorities for every detail of day-to-day life. A forceful speaker and skillful writer with convincing ways, he soon had a following among prominent leaders from Monmouth County to New York City and upward through the Hudson Valley.  He would be joined by other powerful leaders such as Theodorus Frelinghuysen and Jacob Hardenbergh.  It was the beginning of a decades-long struggle for freedom and independence.

      Reverend Haughhort was a visionary, a revolutionary but, perhaps, not a diplomat. The correspondences from the Americans to the Europeans are replete with apologies attempting to play down his colorful metaphors and feisty actions. He was a pious man but not too saintly.  In one letter, among many, we read:

 "Your Reverences will please to cover with brotherly charity some expressions which Domine Haughhort used, in a letter of the 21st of September 1737."

      When evaluating Reverend Haughhort's and Second River's role in the revolution, four things must be kept in mind:

1) That the goal of the revolution was to throw off the European domination of America.

2) That the Reformed Church was the religion of a major part of the population in the wealthy Dutch colonies of New York and New Jersey.

3) That a great part of the war which followed was fought in New York and New Jersey.

4) While expanding commerce was beginning to flex its muscle, ecclesiastical matters still out-weighed secular matters in the 18th Century.

 As it was, England was the administrator and tax collector and  Holland dictated all religious matters in these two prosperous and powerful mid-Atlantic colonies

      It was a long, arduous battle with many twists and turns, with advocates on each side; not everyone approved of revolution.  The years of struggle took a toll on Haughhort's health and fortunes, but he was truly a never-give-in kind of man who believed America should be independent.  Victory came in 1771.  In an action that served as an early Declaration of Independence,  the leadership of the Americans, without consent from Holland,  formed an organization that would thenceforth be their governing body. Included in this bold move was the founding of Queen's College, later to become known as Rutgers University, wherein these colonists intended to educate their own officers. 

    It was done. The first step in freeing America from Europe was taken.  The concept was electrifying the colonies.  If the all-powerful European Church-masters could be set aside, how difficult could it be to dispense with the English tax collectors?  Just two short years later, on December 16, 1773, buoyed by the successful actions of the middle colonies and incensed by increased taxation,   there was a certain tea party in a place called Boston.

     The good Reverend Gerardus Haughhort saw the completion of his part in the revolution, but only the beginning of the armed revolution which followed. He passed to his reward in 1776.  The revolution to free America from outside domination, begun with his goose quill, would end with flashing blades. 

      History books tend to favor the sword over the pen. Flashing blades are dramatic.  Most history books will tell you that the American Revolution began in and around Boston because the first acts of violence occurred there.  If violence is the criteria which defines revolution, if "war" is the operative word, then Boston deserves all of the credit. However, if a man with a rapier-sharp pen and a commanding voice demanding freedom defines revolution, then the American Revolution began here.  If one looks to when pen and voice were first raised in revolt against European masters in our country, then it is a documented truism that the American Revolution began here in the Village of Second River, the American Revolution began here in the old Dutch Church on Main Street, the American Revolution began here in the person of the Rev. Gerardus Haughhort.

      Reverend Haughhort's remains are interred inside the old Dutch Church, here in Second River, Belleville, from whence his spirit watches as we enjoy our freedom.

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Note:  for history students who may wish to research this phase of our town's past, there are multiple spellings of Haughhort's name to be found in the correspondences and literature.  In this essay, the most common spelling is used, but there are others  including; Haughhoort, Haughoort, Haeghoort and Haagoort.

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