They say there are several deaths. The death of your body. The death of the last person who could remember you when you were alive. And, the last moment anyone speaks your name.
I think we could add to this list, perhaps near but not at the end, the death that occurs when your actual appearance is forgotten.
No description of John J. Brandegee’s life would be complete without a specific mention of the church he helped found, Grace Church, in Utica, N.Y.
A passage from the church’s history reads:
The cornerstone was laid on July 10, 1856, but by September 1859, it seemed as if the edifice might never be completed due to financial problems. However, the Rev. John J. Brandegee, third rector, was a man of great courage and experience and it was through his persistence that enough money was raised to finish the church and pay off the mortgage. On May 20, 1860, the first service was held in the new church and on Easter Day, 1864, the $30,000 mortgage was paid. The church was consecrated on August 16, 1864, but unfortunately, Dr. Brandegee died a week after presenting the last offerings which freed the church from its debt. Truly it may be said of him that “…his real offering was himself, and that the church is his enduring memorial.”
Today, the church is still going strong, and actually houses several portraits of Brandegee, a bust of him, as well as one of the few extant contemporary copies of his book of sermons.
[Note: I have extremely low resolution photos of these portraits, kindly sent to me in the mid 90s by the church’s minister or perhaps historian, which I debated putting up here. The reproductions really need to be redone from the originals, though, in good lighting, with modern camera technology; even an iPad would probably be fine. A project for another day, however.–LSL]
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The location and contact details for Grace Church are as follows:
Website for the church is here.
Facebook page is here.
Wikipedia entry is here.
An online walking tour can be viewed here. Note there are some irritating pop-up ads with this, but I still enjoyed it.
Lastly, you can get in touch at:
6 Elizabeth St,
Utica, NY 13501
Tel: (315) 733-7575
Google Maps:
I found this in NYC Marriage & Death Notices 1843-1856, available here. It is a contemporary announcement of the marriage of Rev. John J. Brandegee to Martina Condict. Since the marriage took place in New Jersey, I presume the notice was placed for social purposes and has no legal value.
Overview…
Closeup…
The text of the entry reads: “MARRIED 1852: On Tuesday evening, June 1st, at St. Peter’s Church, Morristown, by Rev. Charles W. Rankin, Rev. John J. Brandegee, Rector of St. Michael’s Church, Litchfield, Conn., to Miss Martina L. Condict, daughter of Hon. Lewis Condict, of this Town.”
I have to confess it was fun to find this. Why? Really, it’s just an entry of an old fact in a decrepit, crumbling, little book of old facts. Perhaps because it reminds me there was a time when their marriage was actually news. Nothing of their lives together was “written.” And people, hearing of this, felt hope and good cheer.
The following brief biography of Rev. John J. Brandegee (Edward Deshon “Ned” Brandegee’s father) is taken from the book, Genealogical Record of the Condit Family, Descendants of John Cunditt, 1678 to 1885, by Jotham H. Condit and Eben Condit, Newark, 1885, pp.233-4, available online here and in paperback here; also reprinted in Condits and Cousins: The Condits and Their Cousins in America, Vol.6, edited by Norman I. Condit, Owensborough, KY, 1980—LSL
[An additional note, you can read Brandegee’s collected sermons online, here. I also have a .pdf of them which I will eventually post.–LSL]
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A sketch of Rev. John J. Brandegee.
MARTINA L. CONDIT (Condict) (of Dr. Lewis) married. June 1, 1852, Rev. John J. Brandegee, D. D., who was born at New London, Conn., July 25, 1823. He was the son of John and Mary Brandegee, one of whom was of Dutch and the other of French extraction. Both families had long previously settled in this country. Dr. Brandegee spent his early youth at New London, and in 1843 graduated at Yale College with a high reputation as a scholar. He was confirmed by Bishop Brounell at New Haven, at the age of 18. Before graduating he formed the purpose of studying for the ministry, and on Sept. 27, 1843, he entered the General Theological Seminary, at New York City, where he completed his course of preparation, and was ordained a deacon by Bishop Brownell, July 3, 1846, at Hartford, Conn. After his ordination he went with an invalid brother to the West Indies, where he labored for two years. On his return he was ordained to the priesthood, Jan. 24, 1849, by Bishop Henshaw, of Rhode Island, at New London, Conn. At this time he was laboring in the parish of St. Michael, Litchfield, Conn., where he continued until February 4, 1854. He then entered upon his duties as rector of Grace Church, Utica, N.Y., and remained there during life, though repeatedly invited to other attractive fields. In the ten years of service at Utica his labors were abundantly blessed, and to his efforts may be credited the erection of the beautiful edifice now occupied by the parish of Grace Church. The cornerstone was laid in July, 1856, but the church was not opened for divine services until May 20, 1860. The last two years of Dr. Brandegee’s labor was frequently interrupted by sickness, which finally resulted in his death April 6, 1864. In 1867 his widow published a volume of sermons which he had preached at different periods of his ministry of eighteen years. They indicate a mind of uncommon intellectuality and breathe a spirit of true devotion to the service of the Master. She died Dec. 11, 1904.
In August of 1802, Martina Elmendorf (who would go on to marry Lewis Condict) started a diary… Perhaps diary is not the exact right word. It seems to be a combination of a calendar and a sort of serial acknowledgement/ recitation of what she was learning in school and church. But diary will suffice.
I confess at the outset, I have not read it in any detail. My main effort, so far, has simply been to get it reproduced and available to others, and hopefully ensure its survival – beyond the reach of fire and flood – into the future.
Consider this a place holder. I’ll post more when I have it.
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Lewis Condict and many of his family are buried in the graveyard of The First Presbyterian Churchyard Morristown, NJ.
Contact information:
Website: http://www.pcmorristown.org/home
Email mail@pcmorristown.org
Phone 973-538-1776
Fax 973-538-7879
The Presbyterian Church in Morristown has two facilities:
Information on the graveyard itself: http://www.pcmorristown.org/about-us/graveyard
Google maps:
The Lewis Condict House still stands at 51 South Street, Morristown, NJ 07960. White, with a large and spacious interior, it is home to The Women’s Club of Morristown.
A reddish plaque outside reads: “Dr. Lewis Condict House—1797—Dr. Condict, outstanding public servant, was first president of the Morris County Medical Society, congressman, and first president of the Morris & Essex railroad.” A letter on the wall of the main downstairs hallway is from General Lafayette to Lewis Condict, thanking him for a speech given in his honor.
The website for The Women’s Club is here.
There is also a Facebook page, here.
or get in touch at…
The Woman’s Club of Morristown
51 South Street,
Morristown, NJ 07960, USA
Tel (973) 539-0467
Fax (973) 539-1505
GPS Coordinates and driving directions:
After Lewis Condict’s mother left for Kentucky, he went to visit her there, which, in 1795, the year he went, was no small undertaking. Along the way, he kept a travel diary or journal, which, fortunately, has survived. The original typeset online versions, presented by the New Jersey Historical Society, are here and here. At some point it would be great to get a scan of the original manuscript, but for now…
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Journal of a Trip to Kentucky in 1795
By Lewis Condict, M. D.
The following journal of a horseback trip to Kentucky in 1795, kept by Lewis Condict, M. D., of Morristown, was presented in the original manuscript to the New Jersey Historical Society, of which Dr. Condict was an original member, at its founding in 1845, by his grand-daughter, Miss Sophia W. Condict, of Washington, D.C. Dr. Condict was accompanied by a party of New Jersey men. His definite object was to visit his mother who dwelt at Cox’s Creek in the Salt River valley, Kentucky. Other interests, commercial and educational, doubtless obtained among the individuals of the party. To Judge Alfred Elmer Mills of Morristown we are indebted for the following annotations on the life of Dr. Condict, for which material Judge Mills gives credit to Henry L. Coit, M.D., who wrote a “Sketch of the Life of Hon. Lewis Condict, M. D., of New Jersey.” [See my earlier post for the text of this.–LSL]
Journal
June 8th 1795 set out from Morris Town at 1 o’clock & rode as far as Millers, on the Moschonekunk, 26 miles, Major John Kinney & Silas Cook of Essex Co. my companions. This divides the Counties of Sussex, Morris & Hunterdon, & is about 4 times as large as Whippany River at Morris Town.
9th. Rode 14 miles & breakfasted at Elders Mill on the Moschonk from thence to Easton a handsome Town, situated at the junction of the Delaware & Lehi on the Pennsylvania shore, from thence to Bethlehem, a Moravian settlement, beautifully situated on the banks of the Lehi, famous for its School for the education of young Ladies. The Lehi is a most beautiful river, & appears to be wider than the Delaware, at its Junction with it. The land is extremely fertile on its banks & produces in great abundance. Crossed the Lehi near Allentown in a Scow & my mare had almost jumped over board being frighted by the rope rubbing against her legs. Staid at Allentown.
After Lewis Condict’s father died, his mother married again, creating what we today would call a blended family, and then much of the new group, more or less minus Lewis Condict, decamped to Kentucky. This is a transcript of Condict’s ten page handwritten account of his close relatives’ journey south and west, and of what eventually became of them all. I found it more than a decade ago on a genealogy website that is now defunct. I’ve searched for it in some new form, an updated address, anything, and come up empty.
It’s a hybrid bit of writing, part genealogical report, part family history narrative. If you push past the initial pages detailing successive generations of Tichenors, though, which are – I admit – not all that compelling, it is a surprisingly human tale of their lives and the challenges they faced.
For the sake of readability, I’m offering two versions here: the first edited and condensed to allow for some semblance of flow; the second is presented as Condict actually wrote it in all its halting steps and asides….
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EDITED AND CONDENSED VERSION
Several years prior to the revolutionary war, Daniel Tichenor purchased a farm in Morris County, N. J. where he resided for 15 or 20 years. His first wife, whose maiden name was Wade, died in 1773. In May, 1776, he married Anna Condict (widow of Peter Condict) and daughter of Capt. Ebener Byram, of Mendham in Morris Co.
In 1790, Daniel traded his farm in Morris Co., NJ. to Capt. John Howell for lands on Green River in Ohio Co., KY. In September of that year, he moved with his family to Kentucky, but not to this land. He never took actual possession of it as it was at that time but a wilderness – the habitation of Indiana [meaning the territory was inhabited by Native Americans] – not a white family within 50 miles. He bequeathed this land to his sons, some of whom after his death went there to live…
When Daniel Tichenor moved to Kentucky, he settled in Nelson County. Two of his near neighbors viz: Asabel Hinman and Caleb Howell, moved with him to Kentucky and settled near him in Nelson Co.
A day having been set for their departure from N. J. to KY, the Rev. Doctor Hillyer of the Presbyterian Church at Madison (then called Battle Hill), of which church Mr. Tichenor and his wife were members, preached a sermon at the house on the occasion, to a very large assembly of friends and neighbors convened to bid farewell and to express their kind wishes and earnest prayers for a prosperous journey and safe arrival at their place of destination. A long procession followed them several miles on their journey.
They travelled in wagons to Pittsburgh, where they obtained a boat and descended the Ohio River to Limestone, (afterwards called Maysville) where they landed and proceeded in wagons to Nelson County and built cabins on Cox’s Creek, near Bardstown in that county.
In September, 1795, Mr. T bought about 100 acres of land on Plum River in Nelson County, and built a dwelling there, where he removed in 1796 and resided till his death, which occurred on the 10th of April, 1804.
For many years Mr. T had been subject to violent attacks of Asthma, which often seemed to threaten sudden death. He enjoyed comfortable health, at intervals, and always led a life of exemplary piety, temperance and industry .
He laid out a family burial ground on his farm in Nelson Co., KY, in which he, his widow, many of his children and grandchildren and neighbors were buried.
In November, 1804, several months after his death, his widow visited New Jersey and spent the winter and spring with her brothers and sisters and her three sons by her first husband. She made this trip on horseback, accompanied by her son Jonas, meeting her oldest son, Edward Condict, by previous appointment, at Wheeling VA, whence they proceeded to Morristown, NJ.
In May of the following year (1805) she returned to her home in KY, accompanied by her son Byram Condict and his family of 5 or 6 children. Three other families removed at the same time, viz: Uzal Condict, Daniel Pruden, Abraham Lindley, and Daniel Lindley. They all settled on Green River in Ohio Co., KY, at Point Pleasant.
Jared Tichenor and his brother Jonas also resided in Ohio County, with many of the connections and descendants.
Byram Condict (son of Mrs. Tichenor by her first husband, Peter Condict) established a ferry on Green River known as “Condict’s Ferry” at the “Condict Settlement.” About the year 1817 or 1818 he was drowned at his own ferry while attempting to cross the river on a stormy night. His widow, Mary Lindley survived him till the winter of 1854.
The widow of Daniel Tichenor resided on her husband’s farm during the remainder of her life, which terminated July 8th, 1826, at the age of 76. Some time previously she had a fall by which the neck of the thighbone was broken, rendering her a cripple the rest of her life. Two of her sisters had been crippled in the same manner and about the same period of life.
The New York Library of Medicine holds the 26 page manuscript of Condict’s dissertation for the MD.
Here is the relevant information at the library.
Link to online citation.
An inaugural dissertation on the effects of contagion upon the human body : Being an attempt to ascertain its mode of operation, with a few observations on the proper method of preventing and curing febrile contagious diseases. Submitted to the examination of the Rev. John Ewing, S.T.P. Provost, the medical professors and trustees of the University of Pennsylvania, for the degree of Doctor of Medicine, on the 19th day of May 1794. /
BookPublisher: Philadelphia : Printed by William W. Woodward, 179Description: 26 p. ; 20 cm. (8vo).Subject(s): Communicable diseases | Academic dissertations — Pennsylvania — 18th century
Kinsmen and Kinswomen 