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Provenance:

Reverend Abel Morgan (1713-1785), Middletown and Holmdel, Monmouth County, New Jersey,

Acquired from Morgan's estate by Matthias Conover (1762-1842), Middletown, Monmouth County, New Jersey,

Thence by descent in the Conover, Roop, and Leonard Families of Middletown, Monmouth County, New Jersey,

Inez Leonard (1915-2001), Leonardo, Monmouth County, New Jersey,

The Collection of H. Gregory Gulick (died 1989) (acquired from above),

The Collection of Joseph W. Hammond, New Jersey,

A New Jersey collector (acquired from above in 2019).

Note:

Rev. Abel Morgan was the 3rd pastor of the Baptist Church in Middletown and Holmdel. The Middletown Baptist Church, founded in 1688, is considered the oldest Baptist church in New Jersey. Abel Morgan was ordained a minister in 1734, while a member of his father Enoch Morgan's congregation. He became the pastor of Middletown Baptist Church in 1738 and had a lasting impact during his tenure, baptizing countless converts, orating more than 5,000 sermons, and leaving behind more than 10,000 written sermon preparations. He had an impressive library of about 300 volumes of early Latin texts, including editions of writers including Cicero and John Calvin, many of which contain his notations. These books were given to the Peddie Institute Library. He never wavered in his preaching, even when the British overtook his meeting house for use as a military hospital during the Battle of Monmouth in 1778. Despite the pews being moved, Rev. Morgan continued to preach out of his barn instead. Morgan Edwards, Baptist pastor and historian, described Abel Morgan as follows, "He was not a custom divine nor a leading divine, but a Bible divine."

Literature:

Celebration of the Two Hundredth Anniversary of the First Baptist Church, Middletown, New Jersey, October 30, 1888 (Trenton, NJ: MacCrellish & Quigley, 1888), pgs. 13-14.

Thomas Griffiths, A History of Baptists in New Jersey (Hightstown, NJ: Barr Press Publishing Co., 1904), pgs. 26-27.

This lot is accompanied by copies of the two volumes listed above.