The Historic Village at Allaire - Rev. Thomas Tanser

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The Rev. Thomas Tanser - Very little is known about his immediate family. In the three existing diaries (1840, 1842 and 1843) there are only a few references to his mother, wives, son, two daughters (one in New York and one in England) and one son-in-law in New York.

The Rev. Tanser's father, Thomas Tanser, Sr., was born in 1754 in Rugby, Warwickshire, England and died at 77 on July 5th 1831. He reportedly was a very strong, sober and industrious man, a miller by trade. He married Sarah Miller on Oct. 11, 1790 at Saint Andrew's Rugby. Sarah, who was born June 21, 1768 and died Nov. 25, 1842, was a daughter of John Miller of Rugby, Warwickshire, England his family had been wealthy, according to an entry and family Bible.

Although we can assume that the Rev. Tenser was born in Rugby Warwickshire, England the date his birth is in question. The date in the Tanser Family Bible is recorded as July 29, 1790.

However, the Parish Register of St. Andrews in Rugby only lists the date of his baptism on Oct. 9, 1791, and not a date of birth. Since a baptism was usually administered to an infant, it would be logical therefore to assume that he was born in 1791 instead of 1790. Since his sister Sara was baptized three months of age, on July 5, 1795, it would make sense that he was probably baptized when he was a little more than two months old. In fact, to help support this possibility, Thomas' diary entry of July 29, 1843 states, "Birthday 52 I believe." That statement would confirm the actual year of his birth as 1791.

The Rev. Thomas Tanser was one of three children mentioned in the Tanser Family Bible. The others were an unnamed brother who died in infancy and a sister Sarah, who was born Mar. 25, 1795. There may have been another brother James who appears in the Warwickshire County Council Records, and might have been born around 1801.

Little is known of Tanser's early years in England, but apparently he was a Methodist Missionary who, by the age of 40, decided to answer a call to become a missionary on a far away shore in the state of New Jersey. Apparently he was first married in England and had two daughters, but there is no mention of them in the Tanser Family Bible records. It has been suggested that his first wife died in England, which may have been the impetus that caused his move across the ocean. In his diaries he mentioned two "unnamed" daughters. One lived in England and the other was marred and living in New York City, however, no records have yet been found identifying their names or the name of Tanser's first wife.

In 1830, the Rev. Tanser left England and apparently became a missionary with the organization named the "Society for the propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts." He then traveled by hose and carriage throughout the central and southern parts of New Jersey preaching and ministering for 15 years, from Spotswood down to Salem. We can date his moving to New Jersey as September 1, 1830 because of the following entry he wrote in his diary of Saturday April 1, 1843. "Thursday, thirteen years ago, I left England about five o'clock in the evening." Unfortunately, he did not mention the name of the ship he came on or the port of entry.

On Nov. 2, 1831 the Rev. Thomas Tanser married Margaret Wilson in Philadelphia, PA. Margaret was born May 1, 1794 and died at the age of 81 on April 13, 1876, outliving him by 31 years. They had one son, Thomas Woodward Tanser. Where, when and how Tanser met his second wife is unknown, but it is known the marriage was performed by Rev. T. Morris of Philadelphia, who possibly was a Methodist minister.

Tanser was ordained by Bishop George Washington Doane, of the Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey, in 1835 as an Episcopal Deacon, thus beginning his career as an Episcopalian missionary. He first worked for James P. Allaire at the Howell Works Company in 1835 and stayed under his employ through 1836.

Tanser was the minister in the Howell Works Church - Christ Episcopal Church, during his employment by Allaire, as well as serving as the Works Company schoolmaster. During this time, Tanser also officiated at St. Peter's Church in Freehold, NJ which was without a minister. While working for Allaire, Tanser received an annual salary of $500 and it is believed lived on the Howell Works property with his family in one of the row homes. It would not be until the year after Tanser left the Howell Works when he would be ordained an Episcopalian priest.

This is confirmed through a history of St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Spotswood, NJ which notes, "Thomas Tanser was an Englishman by birth. As a young man he became a Methodist missionary and when he came to this country he preached in the Methodist Church. He was ordained a deacon in the Episcopal Church by Bishop Doane in 1835 and priest in 1837. All of his ministry was as a missionary, first at Howell Works and St. Peter's, Freehold from 1835 - 36, then for a year (1837-38) at St. Peter's, Spotswood, and then from 1838-1845 at St. George's (Salem), Penn's Neck (Pennsville), St. Stephen's, Mullica Hill and St. Thomas, Glassboro. The Rev. Thomas Tanser died while serving the congregation of St. Stephens on April 14, 1845 at the rectory located at 49 Main Street in Mullica Hill, NJ ending a long and faithful career.

Allaire Village, Inc. and the Historic Village at Allaire wishes to thank Mr. Mark Heston; great, great grandson of the Rev. Thomas Tanser; for providing us with this biographical information.

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