Zabriskie, John Lansing

Zabriskie, John Lansing a venerated clergyman of the Reformed (Dutch) Church in America, was born in 1779 at Albany, N. Y. He graduated at Union College in 1797, studied theology under Dr. Theodoric Romeyn, and was licensed by the Classis of Albany in 1800. His first settlement was in the united churches of Greenbush and Wynantskill, near Albany, in 180011. In the latter year he removed to Hillsborough (or Millstone), near New Brunswick, N. J., where he ministered until his death, in 1850. His pulpit and parochial labors were said to be greater than those of any other minister of the region. He was a judicious, sensible, wise man; an excellent "old-fashioned" preacher; evangelical, earnest, and practical; a father to his people, and venerated by the ministry. His career was quietly useful, his character unspotted by the world, and his memory is cherished among the godly people of his large and important charge, upon whom he left the permanent stamp of his faithful teachings. He was in person short and stout, with a large head and face, genial in expression, and easy in his manners, With all his habitual gravity and professional air, at times "in his social intercourse he would astonish and excite you by his wit, his sarcasm, and even drollery." His talents were good, and his attainments in the old theology were respectable. He knew the Gospel, and felt it and preached it with clearness, zeal, and often with great power of immediate impression. See Corinthians win, Manual of the Ref. Church in. America, p. 277,278, (W. J. R. T.)