(1766), was founded in New Jersey as “Queen’s College” by the efforts of the Dutch minister, Rev. Theodore Jacobus Frelinghuysen (1692–1747). Initially a Pietist minister in Germany, he was schooled in Holland, and later emigrated to New Jersey. Rev. Theodore Frelinghuysen stated:
The largest portion of the faithful have been poor and of little account in the world.1551
In 1825, Queen’s College was changed to Rutgers University, in honor of Henry Rutgers. He had served as a captain in the 1st Regiment of the New York Militia, was a member of the New York Assembly, and gave land for the 2nd Free School for the city’s poor. He was a regent for the University of the State of New York, and a trustee of Princeton University and Queen’s College. Henry Rutgers was the president of the board of the Dutch Reformed Church, and gave the land for the Rutgers Street Presbyterian Church.
In 1776, inspired by the motto of the University of Utrecht, Netherlands, which was “Sun of Righteousness, Shine upon Us,” Rutgers University chose for its official motto:
Son of Righteousness, Shine upon the West Also. 1552