About the year 1737 a society of Rogerine Baptists, or Quaker Baptists, as they were then called, located at Waretown, now in Ocean county. From various notices of the history of this singular sect and how a society came to be located in Ocean county, we extract the following:

This society was founded by John Rogers about 1674; his followers baptised by immersion; the Lord's Supper they administered in the evening with its ancient appendages. They did not believe in the sanctity of the Sabbath. They believed that since the death of Christ all days were holy alike. They used no medicines nor employed doctors or surgeons; would not say grace at meals; all prayers to be said mentally, except when the spirit of prayer compelled the use of voice. They said, "All unscriptural parts of religious worship are idols," and all good Christians should exert themselves against idols, etc. Among the idols they placed the observance of the Sabbath, infant baptism, etc. The Sabbath they called the New England idol, and the methods they took to demolish this idol were as follows: They would on Sundays try to be at some manual labor near meetinghouses or in the way of people going to and from church. They would take work into meetinghouses, the women knitting, the men whittling and making splints for baskets, and every now and then contradicting the preachers. "This was seeking persecution," says one writer, "and they received plenty of it, insomuch that the New Englanders left some of them neither liberty, property or whole skins."

John Rogers, the founder of the sect, who, it is said, was as churlish and contrary to all men as Diogenes, preached over forty years, and died in 1721. The occasion of his death was singular. The smallpox was raging terribly in Boston and spread an alarm to all the country around. Rogers was confident that he could mingle with the diseased and that the strength of his faith would preserve him safe from the mortal contagion. Accordingly he was presumptuous enough to travel one hundred miles to Boston to bring his faith to the test. The result was that he caught the contagion, came home and died with it, the disease also spreading in his family and among his neighbors. This event one would think would have somewhat shaken the faith of his followers, but on the contrary it seemed to increase their zeal.

In 1725 a company of Rogerines were taken up on the Sabbath in Norwich, Conn., while on their way from their place of residence to Lebanon. They were treated with much abuse, and many of them whipped in a most unmerciful manner. This occasioned Gov. Jenks, of Rhode Island, to write spiritedly against their persecutors, and also to condemn the Rogerines for their provoking, disorderly conduct.

One family of the Rogerines was named Colver, or Culver, (Edwards' History spells it one way and Gov. Jenks the other.) This family consisted of John Colver and his wife, who were a part of the company which was treated so rudely at Norwich, and five sons and five daughters, who, with their families, made up the number of twenty-one souls. In the year 1734 this large family removed from New London, Conn., and settled in New Jersey. The first place they pitched upon for a residence was on the east side of Schooley's Mountain, in Morris county. They continued here about three years and then went in a body to Waretown, then in Monmouth, but now in Ocean county. While here they had their meetings in a schoolhouse, and their peculiar manner of conducting services was quite a novelty to other settlers in the vicinity. As in England, during the meeting the women would be engaged in knitting or sewing, and the men in making axe handles, basket splints, or engaged in other work, but we hear of no attempt to disturb other societies.

They continued at Waretown about eleven years, and then went back to Morris county and settled on the west side of the mountain from which they had removed. In 1790 they were reduced to two old persons whose names were Thomas Colver and Sarah Mann; but the posterity of John Colver, it is said, is yet quite numerous in Morris county. Abraham Waeir, from whom the village of Waretown derives its name, tradition says was a member of the Rogerine Society. When the main body of the society left he remained behind, and became quite a prominent business man, generally esteemed. He died in 1768, and his descendants removed to Squan and vicinity, near the head of Barnegat Bay.

Before concluding this notice of the Rogerines, it should be stated that another thing in their creed was, that it was not necessary to have marriages performed by ministers or legal officers. They held that it was not necessary for the man and woman to exchange vows of marriage to make the ceremony binding. A zealous Rogerine once took to himself a wife in this simple manner, and then, to tantalize Governor Saltonstall, called on him to inform him they had married themselves without aid of church or state, and that they intended to live together as husband and wife without their sanction. "What!" said the Governor, in apparent indignation, "do you take this woman for your wife?" "Yes, I most certainly do," replied the man. "And do you take this man for your husband?" said he to the woman. The woman replied in the affirmative. "Then," said the wily old Governor, "in the name of the Commonwealth I pronounce you husband and wife - whom God hath joined together let no man put asunder. Yon are now married according to both law and gospel."

The couple retired, much chagrined at the unexpected way the Governor had turned the tables on them, despite their boasting.

In 1837, Elder Benjamin Winchester preached the first Mormon sermon in Ocean county, in a schoolhouse in New Egypt. Winchester was from the State of New York, and one of the early disciples of Joseph Smith. He continued for some time to hold regular services here, and in his discourses gave minute account of the alleged original discovery of the golden plates of the Book of Mormon near Palmyra, New York, by Joseph Smith, and their translation by him and Sidney Rigdon, and claimed that they were deposited by a people two thousand years before, whom they said were the Lost Tribes of Israel. He also preached in neighboring places. He made some fifty converts, who were baptized; among them was Abraham Burtis, who became a preacher, and a large number joined the society at Hornerstown, where they finally built a church, and where a good many respectable people adhered to the faith. The church has since gone down, but a few people remained favorably impressed with the principles. Their labors extended to Toms River, and here, too, they built a small church on the south side of the river, which is remembered as the first building in which the Ocean County Courts were held after the County was established, and before the court house was built. Their preachers also went as Ear south as Forked River, where they made a considerable impression, and baptized some in the mill pond - the preacher complimenting one convert, it is said, by saying, after immersing her, that he saw the devil as big as an owl leave her!

Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, visited New Egypt, Hornerstown and Toms River, in 1840, and sealed a large number. William Smith, brother of the prophet, frequently preached at New Egypt; he preached the funeral sermon of Alfred Wilson, who was originally a Methodist, but became a Mormon preacher. James L. Curtis, originally a Methodist, also became a Mormon preacher. The present successor of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, as head of the Mormon Church, is John Taylor, who has also preached in Ocean county, and was probably the last who preached as far south as Forked River. He held forth about 1851, in the old Forked River schoolhouse, and his sermon seemed to differ but little from an old-fashioned Methodist sermon on the necessity of salvation, as he made but little allusion to the peculiar tenets of Mormonism. About 1852 many Mormon converts left Ocean county for Salt Lake City, among whom were Joseph Chamberlain and family, of Forked River, and a number of respectable families from Toms River. They encountered serious hardships in crossing the plains. It is generally conceded that the Mormon converts were noted for sincerity, industry and frugality.

Of Joseph Smith's visit to New Egypt, some amusing stories, probably exaggerated, are told at the expense of converts, such as of a wealthy man being told by Smith to repair to a particular tree at a certain hour of the night and pray for direction from Heaven, and the Lord would reply. Accordingly the man sought the place and prayed as directed; he was answered by a voice from above, which, among other things, directed him to give a good share of his worldly goods to the prophet Smith; but the man seemed to doubt it being the voice of an angel - it sounded more like Smith himself concealed in the branches.

The little Mormon church at Toms River was bought in 1878 by Franklin Harris and is now a part of his storehouse.

In June, 1878, Rev. Wm. Small, a Mormon preacher, held services in Shinn's Hall, New Egypt.

Rev. Mr. Shafer, an Episcopalian clergyman, of Burlington, held services once a month for a year or so in 1872-3 at Barnegat and Manahawkin, and Rev. Mr. Pettit, of Bordentown, preached at Manahawkin in 1873.

Bishop Odenheimer visited Barnegat, July 25, 1873, and held services in the M. E. church, assisted by Rev. Mr. Shafer, on which occasion Prof. B. F. North united himself with the Episcopal denomination.

The Methodists used the old free church for many years, but on February 10, 1853, a certificate of incorporation was filed in the County Clerk's office, naming as trustees of the M. E. Society, Job Edwards, Lawrence Ridgway, Gabriel M. Inman, Tunis Bodine and Jeremiah Predmore. A lot was bought and on the 22d of August, 1857, the corner stone of their church was laid, on which occasion Revs. Messrs. Stockton, Corson and others officiated. The basement was dedicated January 17th, 1859, Rev. William C. Stockton, pastor in charge, Rev R. B. Lawrence and others present. The main audience-room was dedicated January 31st, 1864; Rev. A. E. Ballard preached the dedication and the pastor Rev. Samuel H. Johnson assisted in the services. The church was burned down on the morning of May 23d, 1882. Measures were at once taken to rebuild it and the new corner stone was laid July 11th, 1882, on which day it was announced that $5,000 had been raised towards the building fund. The basement was dedicated December 10th, 1882, while Rev. J. J. Graw was pastor. Rev. John Miller, of Trenton, preached in the morning and in the evening. Presiding Elder Shock conducted the services. The church so far as then completed cost $6,000, of which all but $120 had been raised.