[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 141 (Friday, October 9, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2009]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   THE 100/240 CELEBRATION OF THE FRIENDS MEETING HOUSE AND CEMETERY 
 ASSOCIATION OF THE TOWNSHIP OF RANDOLPH, COUNTY OF MORRIS, NEW JERSEY

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                      HON. RODNEY P. FRELINGHUYSEN

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 8, 1998

  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the 100/
240 Celebration of the Friends Meeting House and Cemetery Association 
of the Township of Randolph, County of Morris, New Jersey.
  On October 11, 1998, the Friends Meeting House and Cemetery 
Association of the Township of Randolph will celebrate the 100th 
Anniversary and the 240th Anniversary of the 1758 Friends Meeting House 
and Cemetery which it now owns and preserves. The Meeting House is the 
oldest church in continuous use in Morris County and the oldest Quaker 
Meeting House in northern New Jersey.
  The Quakers who migrated to the Mendham area of Morris County 
occupied land that belonged to William Penn. They began arriving in the 
1740's, establishing farms, mills, and iron forges along many brooks 
and valleys of the area. They organized as the Mendham Friends Meeting. 
In 1758, they built their Meeting House and established their cemetery. 
A national, State, and local treasure, the hand-crafted building of oak 
and clapboard is little changed from the eighteenth century. In 1805, 
Randolph set off from Mendham Township, and in 1817 the name was 
changed to the Randolph Friends Meeting. In 1865, the original meeting 
came to an end.
  From 1865-1898 descendants of the original Quaker families and the 
last few surviving members of the former meeting cared for the cemetery 
and grounds and maintained the Meeting House. Memorial services were 
held annually at the Meeting House for those buried in the cemetery. 
There was an occasional wedding or funeral.
  In 1898, as the last members of the former Meeting became too infirm 
to oversee the property, a group of descendants in the Morris County 
area came together and formed the Friends Meeting House and Cemetery 
Association of Randolph Township. Membership was open to anyone whose 
ancestors had worshipped in the meeting house or was buried in the 
cemetery as well as to members of the Friends faith who had an interest 
in preservation of this important place. The sole goal of the 
Association was preservation of the site.
  Mr. Speaker, for the past 100 years, the Friends Meeting House and 
Cemetery Association has faithfully pursued preservation of the Friends 
Meeting House and Cemetery, a monument in Morris County for 240 years. 
Mr. Speaker, I ask you and my colleagues to join me in congratulating 
all past and present members of the Association and Meeting House on 
these special anniversaries.

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