Guide to the Jonathan Freeman Sermons
Open for research.
Jonathan Freeman was born on April 4, 1765, in Woodbridge, New Jersey. He was licensed to preach in 1793 by the Presbytery of New York and in 1794 was ordained and installed as pastor of the Presbyterian Church at Hopewell, New Jersey, where he served until he moved to the Bethlehem Presbyterian Church at Newburgh, New York, in 1797. In 1805 he was called to the church in Bridgeton, New Jersey, where he served as pastor until his death in 1822.
Freeman was awarded a BA in 1790 and a MA in 1800 from Columbia College. In 1809 the College of New Jersey (Princeton) gave him an honorary MA. He served as a Director of Princenton Theological Seminary from 1815 to 1819. He published several sermons and contributed to religious periodicals. Among his publications were "A Sermon preached on the day appointed by the General Assembly as a day of Solemn Humiliation, Fasting and Prayer," 1798; a "Discourse on Psalmody," delivered before the Presbytery of Hudson, 1801; "A Baptismal Catechism," 1811; and a "Baptismal Dialogue" between a group of Anabaptist writers and himself.
This collection consists of manuscript sermons that were preached by Freeman at various times and places over a period from 1802-1821. The sermons are numbered but the series is not complete.
There is also a transcription of his "Discourse on Psalmody."
The collection is arranged as follows:
SERIES I: SERMONS, 1798-1821, UNDATED
SERIES II: ADDRESS AND LECTURE, 1801, 1806
Available on microfilm: MFPOS 721.
Researchers should also consult the library card catalogue.
Collection processed and finding aid prepared: March 1992
Glenn Colliver, Assistant Archivist, Philadelphia
| Box | Folder | Description | |
| 1 | 1 | Finding Aid to Record Group 287 | |
| SERIES I: SERMONS, 1798-1821, UNDATED | |||
| 1 | 2 | A Pastoral Charge, undated | |
| 1 | 3 | Sermons 1-3 | |
| 1 | 4 | Sermons 4-9 | |
| 1 | 5 | Sermons 33, 120, 163 | |
| 1 | 6 | Sermons 166, 171-173 | |
| 1 | 7 | Sermon 180 | |
| 1 | 8 | Sermon 182 | |
| 2 | 1 | Sermons 193, 196-200 | |
| 2 | 2 | Sermons 201, 203-205 | |
| 2 | 3 | Sermons 206, 208, 209, 216, 220 | |
| 2 | 4 | Sermons 348, 350, 351, 353 | |
| 2 | 5 | Sermons 432, 445, 456 | |
| 2 | 6 | Index of Subjects and Texts of Sermons and Lectures, undated | |
| SERIES II: ADDRESS AND LECTURE, 1801, 1806 | |||
| 2 | 7 | Transcription of an Address, "A Discourse on Psalmody," 1801 | |
| 2 | 8 | Lecture, "What is the best method to preach the gospel...?", 1806 |