First Presbyterian Church of Woodbridge, NJ

Rev. Dr. Azel Roe, Minister No. 9 (1763-1815)
He was our longest serving minister - 52 years - and he is interred in the cemetery along with his two wives, Rebecca and Hannah. A Presbyterian Church had been established in Metuchen around 1720 and from 1772 to 1792 Rev. Roe preached half time in each of the congregations. Rev. Roe was a trustee of Princeton from 1778 to 1807, Moderator of the General Assembly in 1802, and received a Doctor of Divinity degree from Yale in 1800. Like all Presbyterian ministers he was an ardent supporter of the Revolution and was preaching revolution from the pulpit. Rev. Roe participated in a skirmish at Blazing Star (Carteret) and, as a patriot, he was captured by the British and imprisoned in the Sugar House Prison in Manhattan during the war. During his tenure, the Meeting House was replaced by the 1803 church built by Jonathan Freeman. He died Dec. 2, 1815, four days after his second wife.

Born: March 20, 1738, Setauket, Long Island, NY Died: December 2, 1815, Woodbridge

Education: Princeton, 1756 Yale, 1800, DD

Ordination: 1762 by New York Presbytery

Family: Wife, Revecca Foot; Wife, Hannah Boswick

Pastor: First Presbyterian Church, Woodbridge 1763-1815 (Entire Ministry)

Rev. Roe is interred in the church cemetery with wives, Rebecca, who died Sept. l, 1794, and Hannah, who died Nov. 28, 1815, just four days before her husband. Rev. Roe was a trustee of Princeton from 1778 to 1807. He was a delegate to the first General Assembly in May 1789 and Moderator of the General Assembly in 1802. The Metuchen Church became a separate body on May 9, 1793, when it was granted separation from the Woodbridge Church by the Presbytery of New York. Our present church building was completed and consecrated in December 1803. Rev. Roe was a most loved pastor and an ardent patriot, having been captured by the British and imprisoned in the Old Sugar House in Manhatten during the Revolutionary War. As a preacher Rev. Roe is said to have been an able man but not brilliant. He relied more on the words of the Gospel than upon the arts of an address.

	Born: March 20, 1738, Setauket, Long Island, NY Died: December 2, 1815, Woodbridge
	Education: Princeton, 1756 Yale, 1800, DD
	Ordination: 1762 by New York Presbytery
	Family: Wife, Revecca Foot; Wife, Hannah Boswick
	Pastor: First Presbyterian Church, Woodbridge 1763-1815 (Entire Ministry)
	Rev. Roe is interred in the church cemetery with wives, Rebecca, who died Sept. l, 1794, and Hannah, who died Nov. 28, 1815, just four days before her husband. Rev. Roe was a trustee of Princeton from 1778 to 1807. He was a delegate to the first General Assembly in May 1789 and Moderator of the General Assembly in 1802. The Metuchen Church became a separate body on May 9, 1793, when it was granted separation from the Woodbridge Church by the Presbytery of New York. Our present church building was completed and consecrated in December 1803. Rev. Roe was a most loved pastor and an ardent patriot, having been captured by the British and imprisoned in the Old Sugar House in Manhatten during the Revolutionary War. As a preacher Rev. Roe is said to have been an able man but not brilliant. He relied more on the words of the Gospel than upon the arts of an address.