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Papers and Proceedings
or
The Bergen County Historical Society
1902— 1905.
Number One.
Organisation and Proceedings Rev. Ezra T. SanFord
Report of the Committee on Colonial and Revo-
lutionary History and Historical Places Col. W. D. Snow
Baron Steuben's Estate William Alexander Linn
The Poor Monument Celebration Eugene K. Bird
Oration Upon the Unveiling of the Statue of
General Enoch Poor Hon. Henry M. Baker
m. /
GEN. ENOCH POOR
Frmu a Faintuiy by Kosciusko.
Papers and Proceedings
or
The Bergen County Historical Society
1902-1905* il~
Number One
Organisation and Proceedings Rev. Ezra T. Saneord
Report of the Committee on Colonial and Revo-
lutionary History and Historical Places Col. W. D. Snow
Baron Steuben's Estate Wiluam Alexander Linn
The Poor Monument Celebration EugEnE K. Bird
Oration Upon the Unveiling of the Statue of
General Enoch Poor Hon. Henry M. Baker
Press of the Evening Record.
1905
o
l^
orriCERS, 1904-1905.
President— T. N. Glover, Rutherford, N. J.
Vice Presidents — Cornelius Doremus, Ridgfewood, N. J. ;
B. H. Allbee, Hackensack, N. J. ; Isaac D. Bog:ert, Westwood,
N. J.; W. M. Johnson, Hackensack, N. J.; W. D. Snow,
Hackensack, N. J. ; Henry D. Winton, Hackensack, N. J. ; A.
W. Van Winkle, Rutherford, N. T-
Recording Secretary — Rev. Ezra T. Sanford, Hacken-
sack, N. J.
Corresponding Secretary — Arthur Van Buskirk, Hack-
ensack, N. J,
Treasurer — James A. Romeyn, Hackensack, N. J.
The officers and the following compose the Executive
Committee — C. Christie, Leonia, N. J. ; A. C. Holdrum, West-
wood N. J. ; E. K. Bird, Hackensack, N. J. ; Abram DeBaun,
Hackensack, N. J.
Publication Committee — C. Christie, H. D. Winton, W.
A. Linn.
LIST OF MEMBERS.
Rev. H. VanDerwart Hackensack
Rev. A. Johnson
Rev. E. T. Sanford
Rev. W. W. Holley
Rev. J. C. Voorhis
W. A. Linn
W. O. Labagh
E. K. Bird
C. V. H. Whitbeck
L L Demarest
J. A. Romeyn
L. S. Marsh
J. E. Esray
Arthur Van Buskirk
Leonard Kirby
Mrs. Leonard Kirby
H. D. Winton
W. M. Johnson
Milton Demarest
Abram De Baum
W. D. Snow
A. S. D. Demarest
Christie Romaine
H. N. Bennett
John S. Mabon
B. H. Allbee
Peter Bogart, Jr. . . .•
D. D. Zabriskie Ridgewood
Rev. W. H. Vroom
Cornelius Doremus
Capt. Andrew C. Zabriskie 52 Beaver Street, N. Y.
Alister Greene i E. 62nd Street, N. Y.
T. N. Glover Rutherford
Arthur W. Van Winkle
Miss E. B. Vermilye Englewood
Geo. R. Dutton
A. D. Bogert
Frank R. Ford
Dr. Byron G. Van Horn
Col. J. V. Moore Leonia
Cornelius Christie
Edw. Stagg
James W. Pearsall Ridgewood
Isaac D. Bogert Westwood
Abram C. Holdrum "
Rev. D. M. Tallmadge
R. W. Cooper New Milford
Jacob Van Buskirk "
Henry D, Sewall May wood
Coleman Gray Hackensack
J. R. Lamb Cresskill
George W. Wheeler Hackensack
David Talmage Leonia
Dr. David St. John Hackensack
Mrs. F. A. Westervelt
R. J. G. Wood Leonia
Rev. H. M. Dodd Rutherford
Dr. C. F. Adams Hackensack
Rev. H. Iserman Ridgewood
Henry Hales
Fred. W. Cane Bogota
Geo. J. Ackerman "
Lewis Lord "
Edward E. Easton Areola
E. E. Wakelee Closter
Milton J. Richardson Ridgewood
J. A. Van Nest
ORGANIZATION AND PROCEEDINGS OF THE
BERGEN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
By Rev. Bzra T. Sanford.
On March 4, 1902, a company of those interested in the
formation of a Historical Society in Bergen County met in the
Johnson PubHc Library at Hackensack, and was called to
order by William A. Linn. Rev. Herman Vandewart, Pastor
of the First Reformed Church of Hackensack, was made
Chairman of the meeting, and James A. Romeyn, Secretary.
A Committee was appointed to perfect the organization,
consisting of W. O. Labagh, C. Van H. Whitbeck and Rev.
Ezra T. Sanford.
On March 26 the Society was formed, a constitution
adopted and a Committee appointed to nominate officers. The
Committee made its report to a meeting held April q, 1902,
and Hon. William M. Johnson was elected first President. In
connection with the other officers and various committees
appointed by the President considerable work was done the
first year.
On June 7 William Nelson, of the State Historical
Society, made an address of encouragement.
On November 21 the Rev. Ezra T. Sanford gave the
Society a lecture on "Old Bergen County Days," Mr. George
Walker kindly furnishing a stereopticon to illuminate the
pictures used for the lecture. A generous offering was made
by the audience on the occasion, towards erecting the proposed
monument to mark the site of Old Fort Lee.
At the first annual dinner, February 23, 1903, in Odd
Fellows' Hall, Hackensack, addresses were made bv Cornelius
Christie, William Abbott, D. D. Zabriskie, C. Doremus, H. D.
Winton, C. V. H. Whitbeck, A. De Baun, W. D. Snow and
T. N. Glover.
At this meeting Cornelius Christie was elected President.
During the year several articles of furniture were purchased
for the preservation of the historical documents and relics
belonging to the Society.
On November ii, 1903, Mr. B. H. Allbee gave a most
interesting lecture on "Old Houses of Bergen County," illus-
trated with stereopticon views kindly furnished by C. Newman.
On February 22, 1904, the annual dinner was held at
Oritani Hall, Hackensack, where addresses were made as
follows: Rev. H. Van Derwart, on "George Washington;"
W. A. Linn, on "Baron Steuben;" T. N. Glover, on "Corn-
wallis in Bergen County ;" Rev. E. S. Wheeler, of Boston, on
"General Greene;" Byron G. Van Home, on "Descendants of
Bergen County Loyalists in Nova Scotia;" B. H. Allbee, on
"Monuments to the Builders of Bergen County."
At this meeting the following Committee was appointed
to co-operate with the Sons of the American Revolution in
erecting a monument to General Enoch Poor in the open
space in front of the County Court House : C. F. Adams, W.
W. Holly, A. T. Holly, E. K. Bird, B. H. Allbee, C. Christie
and Rev. E. T. Sanford. With the Committee, by request of
the Sons of the American Revolution, W. M. Tohnson was
asked to serve.
Thomas N. Glover was elected President for the ensuing
year.
Various gifts of relics and historical documents were
received during the year, among them being- publications of
the Minisink Valley Historical Society, The Newburg (N.
Y.) Historical Society, State Historian Hugh Hastings, of
New York, and the Holland Society.
In the month of April, under the management of Mrs. F.
A. Westervelt, the Society conducted an interesting exhibition
of relics and historical documents in its rooms in the Johnson
Library Building.
During the year the Poor Monument Committee, Dr. C.
F. Adams, Chairman, raised five hundred dollars towards the
erection of the proposed monument, the State of New Jersey
giving one thousand dollars, the State of New Hampshire five
hundred dollars and the Sons of the American Revolution five
hundred dollars.
On November 13, Frank G. Speck gave a lecture on
"Indians in Bergen County."
On December 12 the two hundreth anniversary of the
Old Stone House on Essex Street, Hackensack. was observed.
The house was built by Abram Ackerman and his sons an<l
was sold to Albert A. Brinkerhoff in 1825. J. G. Ackerman
read the Ackerman family history and the Rev. E. T. Sanford
spoke upon the subject, "When the Old House Was New."
At a meeting of the Executive Committee on December
23, the Editorial Committee were authorized to issue a publi-
cation containing a brief History of the Society by the Rev.
Ezra T. Sanford, the address of Col. W. D. Snow at the first
annual dinner, the address of W. A. Linn at the second annual
dinner, the oration of Hon, Henry M. Baker at the unveiling
of the Statue of General Enoch Poor, with a brief introduction
to said oration by E. K. Bird, and in addition to the foregoing
appropriate incidental matter; two copies to be distributed to
each member of the Society and other copies exchanged with
Historical Societies. An edition of five hundred copies
was thought desirable.
REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON COLONIAL AND
REVOLUTIONARY HISTORY AND HIS-
TORICAL PLACES.
Read at the Annual Dinner, February 22, 1903, by Col. IV.
D. Snow.
The writer of this report presents it with hesitancy as
the Report of the Committee. The field assigned is so broad,
the material so abundant, the difficulty of co-operative worl<,
arising from the scattered homes of its members so great, that
the writer has been compelled to assume a responsibility he
would have preferred to avoid, could he have had larger
opportunities for consultation and advice with his fellow
members.
Justice requires that he should make this avowal, so that
those who are associated with him, may not be held responsible
for the errors of this document, and that he, solely, may bear
the brunt of whatever is here set down, which shall not satisfy
the critical taste and wider knov/ledge of the other members
of the Committee or the Society itself.
On a subject so complex and in part so obscure as the
Colonial and Revolutionary History of New Jersey, for want
of earlier societies of the nature of our own, the Committee
has thought, that it ought to proceed upon a system, which
should first present as briefly as possible the ascertained facts
of History, which have affected our territory generally or
locally; whether proprietory, political, military, judicial or
legislative.
Should they succeed in this, tho' in a hasty and frag-
mentary way, covering but a small segment of the circle of
events of the past of New Jersey and the Bergen region, they
feel that they will at least have striven for the position of Friar
Tuck; who is said not only to have*"pointed to Heaven, but
led the way" in that, at least they will have emulated his many
imperfect steps and numerous back slidings; of which, it will
be remembered, he was a most accomplished past-master.
That unmitigated martyr to unexpected and undeserved
good luck, by the grace of the treachery of Major General
Monk, to the cause of the people whilom Duke of Albemarle,
the Second Charles, King of England, among his early
acts after the restoration of Monarchy, in utter disregard of
the pledges of the English Commonwealth, under Cromwell;
proceeded with true kingly arrogance in 1664, to bestow on
his brother James, Duke of York and Albany, the property of
other people, which, he with gracious magnaminity described
as "all the lands lying within the sweep of a line drawn up the
Western bank of the Connecticut River from its source, to the
sources of the Hudson, thence West to the head of the Mohawk
branch of the Hudson River, thence to the Eastern side of
Delaware Bay (March, 1664), and thence to the ocean. By
one of those rare chances of inscrutable History, these lines
correspond with the outer boundary of the Dutch Republic,
sprung from the discoveries of Henrick Hudson in the
Republic's service, and the occupancy and peaceful settlement
of the citizens of that government acquiesced in and respected
from its first settlement. In persuance of this generous scheme
of high-handed robbery, the next step of Royalty was the
sending of Col. Richard Nichols, Sir Robert Carr, Col. George
Coborough and Samuel Maverick, to take possession as Com-
missioners of the regally bestowed territory, to revoke their
charters and assume the Government of this and other territory
claimed as the heritage of Charles 11. from the royal martyr,
the first Charles.
The third step was in a time of profound peace between
the Dutch and England, without notice of claim to the Dutch
Republic or notification to the citizens of New Netherlands,
with 450 soldiers and 120 guns mounted on three men of war,
to take possession of the land. This proved easy. Gov. Stuy-
vesant, taken by surprise, without instructions from home —
so secretly had the movement been made — finding himself with
but 120 trained men to arms and only 20 guns at the fort, was
forced to surrender without a blow. There was no choice
between surrender and slaughter, and he succumbed. The
crime was consummated. Bergen and its outer territory was
part of the land seized. A medieval afternoon miracle has been
performed, and the Dutchmen who had gone to bed, members
of the glorious little republic, woke up Englishmen.
New Jersey became a political entitv for the first time in
July, 1665, when the English Governor Nicolls, who had
10
taken possession of New Amsterdam in Augfust. 1664, and
included New Jersey as a part of the grant was first apprised,
that two months before he had taken possession, His Royal
Highness, the Duke of York, had granted to his two friends,
Lord John Berkley, Baron of Stratton and Sir George Carteret
of Saltum, "all his rights, within the territory of New Nether-
lands, between the Hudson River and the harbor of New
York and the Delaware River, and the sea ending at Cape
May in the South." Col. NicoUs, who had been acting as
Governor of the whole territory, was not a little disturbed at
the confusion likely to ensue after a successful year's work oi
pacification. As the proof of the grant presented by Phillip
Carteret, who had been designated as Governor by the new
proprietors was incontestible. Col. Nicolls at once surrendered
the territory. Before this, however. Col. Nicolls in ignorance
of his want of power had already authorized a settlement at
Elizabeth, and had granted rights and titles along the Hudson
and outer bay ; particularly in Bergen, Hoboken, Weehawken,
Pavonia, Ahasimus and Constables Hook ; the settlers of all of
which were profoundly exercised by the uncertainties, which
beset their political and pecuniary rights and titles.
Instructed by the ideas born of the Civil War, resulting in
the conflict between Kingly prerogative and the fundamental
rights of the people. Lord Berkeley and Sir George Carteret
had authorized Phillip Carteret to offer gifts of land to settlers
on most liberal terms, among which were religious toleration,
and a free Government. This document was called :
"The Concessions and Agreements of the Lords Proprie-
tors to and with, all and every of the adventures and all such
as shall settle and plant in their territory."
It v/ill be observed that these concessions were far in
advance of the Governmental plans of most of the other pro-
prietors, and that for the times, New Jersey started on her
political career on a higher plane of recognition of human
rights, than any of the then colonies enjoyed, till the advent of
William Penn as proprietor some years later.
The Governor assiduously made known throughout New
York and New England the lilDeral terms he was authorized to
grant, and almost immediately a remarkable immigration,
organized by whole companies, set in from New York, Con-
necticut and Massachusetts as well as from Sweden, the Neth-
erlands, France and England.
The region known as Bergen comprised the present
II
county and what is now Hudson county, with undefined limits
South and West, and from its accessibiUty profited most in
numbers, as is shown by the fact that in the first assembly
called by the Governor, May 26, 1668, Bergen was allotted
more so-called "Burgesses" than any of the other divisions of
the colony.
The assembling of that body revealed the significant fact
that the largest immigration came from Massachusetts, and
that region of Connecticut, which still maintained a theocratic
Government, denying political rights to all who were not
members of the prevailing church in good standing and com-
munion.
The Puritans controlled that Assembly and passed a bill
of fines and penalties against various sorts of offenders, which
was drawn in some of its parts directly from the Book of
Leviticus.
In that age, characterized by historians as one in which
all sects wanted toleration for themselves, and none were
willing to accord it to others, the New Jersey Puritans found
religious toleration imbedded in the organic contract called
The Concessions and left it untouched, as a basic fact whicli
had brought to New Jersey, and especially Bergen, unbounded
prosperity.
How great a boon they preserved to our forefathers is
strikingly illustrated by two contemporary acts fourteen years
later. The debasing effects of religious rancour even on the
superior minds of devout men, were never more strikingly
illustrated than in the following letter, from one of the most
celebrated divines New England has ever produced.
It is addressed to another distinguished personage of the
Colony of Massachusetts and is as follows :
September ye 15, 1682.
"To Ye Aged and Beloved, Mr. John Higginson :
'There is now at sea a ship called the Welcome, which
has on board an hundred or more of the heretics and malig-
nants called Quakers, with W. Penn, who is the chief scamp,
at the head of them.
"The general court has accordingly given secret orders
to Master Malachi Huscott, of the brig Porpoise, to waylay
the said Welcome, slyly, as near the Cape of Cod as may be,
and make captive the said Penn and his ungodly crew, so that
12
the Lord may be glorified, and not mocked on the soil of this
new country with the heathen worship of these people.
"Much spoil can be made by selling the whole lot to
Barbadoes, where slaves fetch good prices in rum and sugar,
and we shall not only do the Lord great service by punishing
the wicked, but we shall make great good for his minister and
people.
"Master Huscott feels hopeful, and I will set down the
news when the ship comes back.
"Yours in ve bowels of Christ,
' "COTTON MATHER."
A few months afterwards the scamp, William Penn, hav-
ing escaped the fate so unctiously designed for him, was
assuring by written mandate the settlers in his broad domain,
which had cost him 16,000 ($80,000) that:
"They should be governed by laws of their own making ;
that they should be at the mercy of no Governor, who comes
to make his fortune, that all sects and conditions of men should
be free to worship God as their consciences dictated; that
there should be no class privileges in Church or State, and
that he proposed by extraordinary precaution to leave himself
and his successors, no power of doing mischief; that the will
of one might not hinder the good of the whole community."
Repugnant as the spirit of Cotton Mather's letter is lo
the enlightened consciences of our day and glorious as seems
to us, in the enjoyment of the fruition of the policy of Penn
two centuries and a quarter later ; who, knowing the infirmi-
ties of sincere human judgment, shall judge between the
Puritan and the Ouaker? Except to say, that the erring one
must not be condemned by the ethics of a later century and
that the other through the susceptibility of a more exquisitely
attuned soul, caught the pearl and crimson morning glow of
the ascending sun of human liberty, while that sun was yet
below the horizon to the earnest gaze of the other, and that
each was honestly true to the light that his nature permitted
him to rceive.
Thus was New Jersey, chiefly Bergen (the Hill County)
bravely launched.
Except for the episode of the reconquest of the New
Netherlands by the Dutch a few years afterwards, their pos-
sessions of seven months before the treaty of Westminster
restored it to the English, and the consequences of that treaty,
the division of New Jersey into East and West proprietor-
13
ships, and the surrender of the proprietory rights to the crown
thereafter, history has only to record a peaceful, orderly
growth in population, wealth and comfort; until the griev-
ances which produced the Revolution began to be discussed
almost a century afterwards.
The growth was cosmopolitan. It came from every
discontented population, suffering from the disturbed state of
warring Europe, and the narrow doctrines and policies of
some of the surrounding Colonies.
An examination of the records of Bergen County dis-
closes from the names attached to Wills and Deeds, that
among the earliest settlers came many with scriptural names,
such as Hezekiah, Rheoboam, Jethro, Azariah, etc., now sup-
posed to represent the Puritan element. The Hugonots, then
fleeing from the results of the revocation of the Edict of
Nantes, were represented by the Debauns. Demarests. DeVoes,
Duboises and other names of pure Norman construction, while
the Teutonic immigration was clearly defined by the numicrous
Dutch Vans dotted all over the Countv, occasionally varied by
the German Von.
As a whole the immigrants were a religous people. From
Smith's History of the Colony of New Jersey, published in
1765, we learn that there was at that time 160 meeting houses
in the Colony, owned by six denominations. The Presbyteri-
ans held about one-third, the Quakers one"fifth, the Episcopali-
ans and Baptists one-eighth each, and the Low Dutch and
Dutch and Dutch Colonist a little less than one-fifth. In
Bergen County at that time, the Low Dutch had the lead with
seven edifices, the Presbyterians came next with six: but the
Quakers, Episcopalians and Baptists were without Houses of
Worship. It is needless to add that the Unitarians — if there
were any — were in a like plight homeless, tho' later history
discloses that the first TTniversalist Church in America was
founded in New Jersey in Monmouth County.
In 1761; Bergen County's lines were exactlv defined and
embraced what is now Hudson County, East of the Hacken-
sack River, and to the North of Hudson territory approximat-
ing its present limits.
Among the intermediary Governors of New Jersey were
two of England's nobilitv, whose names were nopularly
regarded as significant of their character. Lord Cornbury
was hated and recalled because of his brutality, and for the
fact that he left his wife and family to starve at Alban)^, and
14
Lord Lovelace, who was popular on account of his refined
taste, suavity of manner, and his sympathetic conduct. It
is not known whether he visited Bergen County, but it is safe
to say he would have been welcomed by the ladies at least,
through the suggestiveness of his name.
It fell to the lot of an unusually good man to be the last
Colonial Governor.
William Franklin personally irreproachable, wise, and a
statesman from the Royalist point of view, encountered the
first mutterings of the storm of the Revolution.
It is not too much to say, that by the weisfht of his char-
acter, the adroitness of his acts of conciliation, and the just-
ness of his temperament, he delayed for more than two years
the climax of that political action, which was to be, and it is
from the tumultous session of the Assembly of 1774- that we
catch the first view of the political feeling of Bergren Countv.
The official record of that session does not out Bergen
County, as repreesnted, as anxious for the Revolution. On the
first of New Jersey's famous resolutions : That the Assembly
heartily accept the invitation of a mutual correspondence
and intercourse with its sister colonies, Bergen County voted
in the negative, and therefore had no representation in the
Committee of Revolutionary Correspondence.
At the first Provincial Congress of the State, held bv
invitation of the General Congress (1776) thirteen Counties
returned 65 members.
On the resolution : That the proclamation of William
Franklin, "late Governor of New Jersey, appointing a meet-
ing of the Legislature for June 20, of that year, ought not to
be obeyed," there were but eleven negative votes, and Bergen
County cast five of them.
On the following day, on the resolution that Governor
Franklin had acted in contempt and in violation of the resolu-
tion of Congress, directing New Jersey and other Colonies to
frame for themselves Independent Governments, there were but
eight votes in the negative and Bergen County cast three of
them.
The third resolution that William Franklin had discov-
ered himself an enemy to his country and should be arrested,
was passed by 42 affirmative votes, including two from
Bergen, yet three of Bergen's votes were still cast in the
negative.
On the fourth resolution, that the Governor's salary
15
should cease, New Jersey's thrift re-inforced its patriotism,
and there was but one Bergen vote in the negative. Governor
Frankhn was arrested; his salary was stopped; he was trans-
ferred to military custody in East Windsor, where he was
held two years ; was exchanged and disappeared under British
protection in New York.
A.> early as June, 1774, a large spontaneous meeting of
the citizens of Bergen County was held at the Court House,
Hackensack. The meeting demanded the Repeal of the Port
Bill, and offered to become parties to a closer union of the
Colonies to redress all the grievances, which affected not only I
New Jersey, but all the Colonies.
Not to be outdone the Loyalists, citizens of Hackensack
to the number of 37, as late as March 14, I77^, met and
declared "their loyalty to the King, and their willingness to
venture their lives and fortunes to support the dignity of the
crown.
The crisis had arrived. Meetings were held throughout
the County, resulting in a decided preponderance of sentiment
for redress and independence, though to the last there existed
a considerable body of loyalists, until the war either drove
them into the ranks of the English or to New York City.
In the New Jersey Gazette of December, 1777, appears a
peculiar appeal of the first Governor of the State of New
Jersey, particularly addressed to Bergen County.
In a letter addressed to Isaac Collins, Gov. William Liv-
ingston says :
Sir : I am afraid that while we are employed in furnish-
ing our battalions with cloathing, we forget the County of
Bergen, which alone is sufficient, amplv to provide them, with
winter waistcoats and breeches. It is well known that the
rural ladies in that part of our State pride themselves in an
incredible number of petticoats; which, like house furniture,
are displayed by way of ostentation, for many years before
they are decreed to invest the fair bodies of the proprietors.
Till that period they are never worn, but neatly piled up on
each side of an immense escritoire, the top of which is decor-
ated with a most capacious brass-elapsed Bible, seldom read.
What I would, therefore, humbly propose, is to make prize of
those future female habiliments, and after proper transforma-
tion, immediately apply them to screen from the inclemencies
of the weather those gallant males, who are now fighting for
the liberties of their country. And to clear this measure from
16
every imputation of injustice, I have only to observe, that the
generality of the women in that county, having:, for above a
century, worn the breeches, it is hig^hlv reasonable that the
men should now, and especially upon so important an occasion,
make booty of the petticoats.
It is pleasant to know that this sug^g^estion was met by
patriotic women, who organized a society for the purposes
indicated for the whole State; that they accumulated a large
supply of material, and the records show, that notwithstanding
the Governor's clumsy humor about the century worn breeches
of the ladies, this country responded nobly, and that on its
most important committees are found the names of the two
Misses Deys, Mrs. Fell, Mrs. Knyper and Mrs. Erskine of
Bergen.
Of Historical Places, the attention of the Committee has
been called to houses and events in Rutherford, Lodi, Kings-
land, Carlstadt, Fort Lee, New Bridge, Paramus Plains,
Ridgewood, Mawah, River Edge, Sufferns, Tappan and
Riverdale; all teeming with Revolutionary Romance, relics
and incidents, which merit the attention of the Committee,
when it shall have more time, and a better co-operative
organization.
As yet the Committee have had opportunity through the
reporter to give attention to but one of these places, and that
the last mentioned, Riverdale, three miles northeast of West-
wood.
On September 23, 1778, Sir Henry Clinton, just returned
from his Bedford expedition, sent his forces along the New
Jersey coast to capture some American privateers, and their
prizes, and destroy grain mills, salt works, &c.
To divert attention and forage for meat and provisions,
he ordered Lord Cornwallis, afterwards the Commander-in-
Chief, captured by Washington at Yorktown, with c^.ooo men
into Bergen County.
He also ordered Gen. Knyphausen to Dobbs Ferry with
3,000 men to collect all description of craft possible to trans-
port the whole 8,000 across the Hudson.
Gen. Washington had just left White Plains, and estab-
lished headquarters opposite West Point. He thought from
the direction the two columns were taking that an expedition
up the Hudson was contemplated, and ordered Col. George
Baylor, with parts of three companies of Light Dragoons — 116
17
men to move from Paramus and post themselves on the upper
Hackensack River to watch the CornwalHs movements.
Col. Bayer arrived at the bridge crossing the Hackensack
at River Vale late in the afternoon of September 28th, and
learned that Gen. Wayne, with 3,000 militia, was just north
of Tappan. Deeming Wayne's command within supporting
distance of him, he resolved to stay over night at that point;
stabled his horses and men at the barns of the Holdrum's, De
Voe's and Haring's of the immediate neighborhood on the
west bank of the river, threw out a picket of twelve men at the
bridge with orders for patrols of two men each to watch each
of the four roads for a mile from the bridge, and then selected
the house of Cornelius A. Herring for his own and his staff's
dormitory, and Herring's barn for the sleeping places of
twenty of his men.
CornwalHs was at New Bridge and his force scattered
from there to Liberty Pole. Apprised by a spy of Col. Bayer's
whereabouts, he immediately formulated a plan to capture his
contingent and simultaneously have Knyhausen attack Gen.
Wayne. Maj. Gen. Gray was ordered with a regiment of
Light Infantry and the Second Battery to attack the sleeping
Baylor.
Just before midnight Gen. Gray struck the west bank road
silently and in good order, about two miles below the bridge.
Here he forced a guide to take the troop through the fields and
around the patrol in such manner that he captured all of them
but one.
This accomplished, with picked men of six companies of
his command, he went directly to the house of Cornelius A.
Herring. The escaped sentinel had arrived and given Baylor
the alarm but a moment before Gray's meji burst in the doors.
Simultaneously all the barns in which the Americans were
sleeping were assaulted.
Col. Baylor and Maj. Clough, realizing the situation, en-
deavored to conceal themselves up the wide Dutch fireplace.
Both were discovered and brought down by bayonet thrusts
up the chimney. Col. Baylor received three wounds and Maj.
Clough died instantly. Cornet Morrow, after being bayoneted
seven times, begged for quarter, which was refused and he was
stabbed again and stripped of his clothing. Dr. Thos. Evans,
surgeon, was wounded, but with Col. Baylor made a prisoner.
The party attacking the barn used the bavonet freely.
Lieut. John Steth, in command, finding himself surrounded,
called out that they surrendered, but was immediately
wounded with a sword and yet escaped.
At a barn attacked by Sir James Bond's cotingent one
British soldier was killed, but of the sixteen Americans in the
barn nine were killed and seven made prisoners.
Ensign Morrow, stripped and left for dead, was found by
Lieut. Sleth the next morning and ultimately recovered.
The general result was of the ii6 Americans thirteen
were instantly killed, seventeen left behind supposed dead or
dying, thirty-nine taken prisoners and forty-seven escaped.
Col. Baylor was the personal friend of Washington, had
served on his stafif and had been one of his family; was the
first man to report to Washington the surrender of the Hes-
sians at Trenton; had been complimented by Congress and
presented by that body for gallantry with a hosre fully capari-
soned and promoted to a Colonelcy of Light Horse.
His disposition of his men on that fateful night was se-
verely blamed as unmilitary. Congress ordered an investiga-
tion. Wayne, warned by surrounding patriots of Knyp-
housen's advance, retreated in time to save his own command
from being surrounded.
The main object of the expedition was therefor a failure,
but as for Col. Baylor his ascending career as a soldier was ar-
rested. The mistake of that night was fatal.
The graves of the humble soldiers killed still remain
marked by tottering headstones in a lonely field beside the silent
flowing Hackensack. Wounded and a prisoner. Col. Baylor
disappeared into the mass of the unfortunate and no man
knows for a certainty when and where he passed the Rubicon
of death.
A single mistake had blasted a patriotic career and all we
can say is, that his fate has only added another illustration to
the truth of the poet, who has said :
!
' "There is a time, we know not when,
A point we know not where.
That turns the destiny of men
To glory or despair.
"There is a line, by us unseen.
That crosses every path ;
The hidden boundary between
God's patience and His wrath."
10
BARON STEUBEN'S ESTATE AT NEW BRIDGE,
BERGEN COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.
WITH SOME ACCOUNT OF HIS EUROPEAN EXPERIENCE AND HIS
SERVICES TO THE AMERICAN ARMY.
Read at the Annual Dinner, February 22, 1904.
BY WILLIAM ALEXANDER LINN.
All of you who have passed over New Brid.sfe, about a
mile above Hackensack, have doubtless noticed the dwelling
of ancient architectural design on the west side of the river,
facing the bridge. It is one of the "old houses" of Bergen
county, and some interesting things in connection with its his-
tory were presented to those of us who were fortunate enough
to listen to Mr. Albee's address at the Park Street Church last
autumn. Sometime within the last ten years I read in one of
our local papers a statement that this property was given to
Baron Steuben by the State of New Jersey, after the Revolu-
tionary War, in recognition of his services to this country dur-
ing that struggle. Ever since that time, whenever I have
ridden or driven over the bridge, I have looked with peculiar
interest on this house, and have imagined the old soldier sitting
on its porch in his latter days, smoking his pipe and slapping
mosquitoes. For I accepted the statement of his ownership
without question.
But when, after the organization of this society, I men-
tioned this incident to some of those who were looking up local
history, I found that the ownership by Baron Steuben was in-
volved in some doubt. Then I began an investigation of the
matter on my own account, and I have found the results so
interesting, and the Baron's story so connected with our local
history, that when I was asked to say something: here this even-
ing, I decided to give you the results of my inquiries.
The subject of my investigations, William Augustus
Henry Ferdinand von Steuben, was the oldest son of Capt
20
Wilhelm Augustine Steuben. The Steubens were of noble
family — "I am a Baron of the Holy Roman Empire," said our
Steuben in later life — but like so many German families in the
years following the Reformation (they were Protestants),
they had lost their landed estates. Capt. Steuben was a Prus-
sian soldier of scientific attainments, who, after serving his
own country with distinction, was in 1733 ordered by King
William I. to enter the service of Russia, and later served Prus-
sia again in the Seven Years' War.
The Baron was born at Magdeburg on November 15,
1730. His father could afford no special educational advan-
tages to his son, who said in later years that he "did not re-
ceive any better education than that which a poor young noble-
man in Prussia always received." But he was without pro-
fligate habits and he was naturally studious, and so he learned
to write and speak French and was well grounded in mathema-
tics and history.
His father's calling attracted him, and when only fourteen
years old he served under him during the war ot the Austrian
succession. The accession of Frederick the Great to the throne
when Steuben was only ten years old gave the young man op-
portunity to take part in some of the greatest militarv struggles
which the world has witnessed. Entering a famous regiment
as a cadet, at the age of seventeen, he was promoted to be an
engineer in two years, to be a lieutenant in four years and to
be a first lieutenant two years later.
His military service was of the most practical and active
character. He was wounded in the battle of Prague in May,
1757, helped rout the French in the battle of Rossbach in the
following November and, joining von Mayr's "free corps," he
participated with distinction in that daring officer's exploits;
after his commander's death was appointed adjutant-general
under von Hulsen and was again wounded in the disastrous
battle of Kunersdorf in 1759. In 1761 he was on the staff of
Gen. Knobloch, whose brigade operated against the Russians
in Poland, and to him was intrusted the negotiation of the
terms of surrender of Colberg, in which city Gen. Knobloch
was blocked up ; and he, with other offigers, was sent thence a
prisoner of war to St. Petersburg.
His imprisonment ended the following year with the
armistice effected between Peter HI. and Frederick, but he had
made himself so popular with the Russians that he was urged
to enter the Russian service. This invitation he declined, and
21
returning home, he was made a captain and appointed aide de
camp on the King's staff, and in that capacity took part in the
siege of Schvveidnitz, with which the active campaigns of the
Seven Years' War ended. Steuben's services, especially as an
organizer, were so highly appreciated by the great Frederick,
that he was one of the few chosen officers whom Frederick
personally instructed in the military art.
Steuben, however, soon resigned from the army. Various
reasons have been advanced for this step, the one accepted as
most probable being a slight to his rank by Frederick, who was
very inconsiderate of his officers' feelings, his favorite ex-
pression when an officer made any complaint being, "He may
go to the devil."
If Steuben received that advice he did not act uoon it. On
the contrary, he made a trip to Hamburg and was there intro-
duced to the Prince of Hohenzollern-Hechingen, from whom
he accepted the office of grand marshal of the court. This
place, the duties of which gave him supreme direction of the
Prince's household and the arrangement of all court cere-
monies, he held for ten years, and a contemporary has testi-
fied that "he filled his post with all that dignity and knowledge
of his duty which it eminently required." But Steuben was a
Protestant, and the court was Catholic, and finding that he was
the object of the plottings of certain priests, he retired, and in
1769 joined the court of the Margrave of Baden, after refusing
liberal offers to enter the military service of the King of Sar-
dinia and of the German Emperor. He now held an honor-
ary military position, leading an easy life, and having oppor-
tunity to visit France and make the acquaintance of many
distinguished Frenchmen and Englishmen.
To form a just estimate of Steuben's services to our own
country we must keep in view not only his military career, but
his social opportunities, and remember how his previous life
and surroundings corresponded with those of Valley Forge and
the other camps of the poverty-stricken patriots. Had he been
a mere hireling, or a mere seeker after military honors, a short
period spent with Washington would have sufficed to dampen
his hopes in America.
We now come to the events which led to Steuben'§ throw-
ing his fortunes with the American cause. The outbreak of
the rebellion of the American colonies seemed to many French
statesmen to give to France the opportunity they had longed
for, viz. : to take revenge on Great Britain for the humiliation
22
to which France had been subjected by the peace of Paris in
1763, which had deprived her of her North American posses-
sions. But the King, Louis XVI., was timid, and while he in-
trigued in secret, he refused to give open aid to the American
cause. His ministers did not conceal their sympathies, and
FrankHn's work at the French court was making progress.
While this was the situation there, Steuben set out for a
visit to England by way of Paris. Arriving at the French
capital he let his friend, the Count de St. Germain, then min-
ister of war, know of his arrival. The Count's reply mystified
him. It asked him not to go to Versailles, but made an ap-
pointment to meet hinv at the Paris arsenal. As Steuben was
traveling merely for pleasure and was not an official person,
he could not understand all this precaution. But he allowed
himself to be conducted to the Count's apartment by an officer,
and was warmly received. The greeting over, the Count
opened a map, and pointing to America, said : "Here is your
field of battle. Here is a republic which you must serve. You
are the very man she wants at this moment. If you succeed,
your fortune is made and you will gain more glory than you
could hope for in Europe in a great many years to come."
Several elements entered into the making of this proposal
by a French war minister to a German soldier. France wanted
to help America and yet not to appear to do so. To European
soldiers the American army presented itself merely as a gath-
ering of citizens made up wholly of volunteers, without mili-
tary organization, without drill masters, without orderly camp
inspection, and without method or economy in the handling of
supplies. No greater practical assistance, it seemed to these
French well-wishers, could be given to the Americans than to
send them an officer of Steuben's experience in all these mat-
ters. His selection had another feature. He was not a French-
man. If he was captured by the British, or if Congress did not
accept his services, France could in no way be held account-
able for his mission, and the French could simply wash their
hands of him.
The scheme did not at all appeal to Steuben's inclinations,
and he gave the Count no encouragement. But other inter-
views followed, and he was introduced to Dr. Franklin, who
also urged his acceptance of the task. But when Steuben
brought up the subject of his expenses, Franklin declared that
he had no authority to make him any pecuniary offer, except
perhaps a grant of land of doubtful value, and his manner so
23
offended Steuben that the interview ended abruptly, and
Steuben told his French advisors that he did not want to hear
anything more of America. The Count continued, however,
to urge the project on him, and at a dinner at which the Span-
ish Ambassador was present the Count, referring to Steuben,
said: "Here is a man who will risk nothing; consequently he
will gain nothing."
Instead of continuing his journey to England, Steuben
returned to Germany, where letters from France followed, re-
newing the American proposal. Steuben accordingly took
counsel of his friend, Prince Louis William of Baden, who did
not hesitate to advise him that he could never hope for a better
opportunity to achieve distinction. This was the turning point.
The King of Prussia gave his consent to Steuben's departure;
he conferred on a cousin his civil position, which brought him
a yearly income of 4,600 livres, and returning to France in
August, 1777, he made his preparations for sailing to this
country. The decision arrived at was that he should ask for
no definite promises from the American agents — not even
money for his traveling expenses — but should simply propose
to make one or two campaigns with the American army as a
volunteer, thus avoiding the jealousy of the younger American
officers.
With letters to Washington, Samuel Adams and other
American leaders, he sailed from Marseilles on September 26,
1777, in the 24-gun ship I'Heureux, whose name for this voy-
age was changed to Le Flamand, entering his own name as
Frank, and carrying, as a disguise, letters to the French gov-
ernor of Martinique. M. de Beaumarchais, a warm sympath-
izer with the American cause, advanced to Steuben his travel-
ing expenses as a loan, and sent to the patriots, in the same
vessel, supplies of powder, cannon, mortars and small arms.
The voyage was a perilous one in several ways. Terrible
gales were encountered, three times the powder-laden ship was
on fire and the crew of eighty-four mutinied and had to be
brought to terms by the fourteen officers and passengers. But
after sixty-six days they entered the harbor of Portsmouth,
N. H., where the vessel was saluted by the fort and the vessels
in harbor, and the passengers were welcomed by the inhabitants
who had just been cheered by the surrender of Burgoyne.
One little piece of deception was practiced in connection
with Steuben's mission. In a letter to Alexander Hamilton, in
1790, concerning his remuneration, Steuben observed: "If I
24
should be charged with having- made use of ilHcit stratagems to
gain admission into the service of the United States I am sure
the army will acquit me." This "stratagem" was the presenta-
tion of Steuben as a Prussian lieutenant-general. It was sug-
gested by the French statesmen who induced him to serve us
that not a member of our Congress had ever heard of the Mar-
gravite of Baden, and that, to limit his title to that dependency,
would deprive him of the rank that was necessary to secure him
the recognition that was mapped out for him in America.
From Portsmouth Steuben sent to Congress and to Gen.
Washington letters defining his object and enclosing his intro-
ductions. The short letter to Congress sets forth his purpose
in a few words :
"Honorable Gentlemen : The honor of serving a nation
engaged in the noble enterprise of defending its rights and
liberties was the motive that brought me to this continent. 1
ask neither riches nor titles. I am come here from the remotest
end of Germany, at my own expense, and have given up an
honorable and lucrative rank, I have made no condition with
your deputies in France, nor shall I make any with you. My
only ambition is to serve you as a volunteer, to deserve the con-
fidence of your general-in-chief, and to follow him in all his
operations, as I have done during seven campaigns with the
King of Prussia. Two-and-twenty years spent in such a school
seem to give me a right of thinking myself amongf the number
of experienced officers ; and if I am possessed of the acquire-
ments in the art of war, they will be much more prized by me
if I can employ them in the service of a republic such as I hope
soon to see in America. I should willingly purchase at the ex-
pense of my blood the honor of having my name enrolled
among those of the defenders of your liberty. Your gracious
acceptance will be sufficient for me, and I ask no other favor
than to be received among your officers. I venture to hope that
you will grant this, my request, and that you will be so good
as to send me your orders to Boston, where I shall await them,
and take suitable measures in accordance."
Proceeding to Boston, John Hancock told him that it
would be necessary for him to journey to York, Pa., where
Congress was then in session, and he was provided with the
equipment necessary for the trip, including saddle horses,
vehicles and five negro servants. The start was delayed for
five weeks, awaiting a reply to his letter to Washington (com-
munication was very uncertain in those days), and he did not
get under way until January 14, 1778. His party included
Duponceau, his interpreter (the Baron could not speak a word
of English), two other Frenchmen and a cook whom he had
brought with him from Europe. They rode on horseback, and
the journey was by no means free from peril. The American
army was suffering the deprivations of Valley Forge; the
British had possession of Rhode Island, New York and most
of Pennsylvania, and the travelers were liable to encounter
parties of Tories, or to ask shelter of a Tory who would not
hesitate to betray them. For instance, they had been warned
against a certain landlord near the Connecticut boundary of
Massachusetts, as a bitter Tory. But a snow storm left them
no alternative against seeking refuge at his house. He recog-
nized their affiliations and absolutely refused them food or
beds. Steuben thereupon called for his pistols, and with these
in hand and the assistance of a volley of German oaths, he sooni
brought the landlord to terms.
They arrived safely at York on February 5, and Steubeni
was warmly welcomed. Pleased with his reception, he wrote i
to John Hancock: "Now, sir, I am an American, and am
American for life." Three members of Congress, including,'
Dr. Witherspoon, the only member who could speak French,,
were appointed to ask Steuben on what terms he proposed 10 )
serve this country. In his reply he reiterated the declaration 1
of his letter to Congress, but said that he expected to have hisi
expenses paid, as he had relinquished his only income on leav-
ing Germany; that if the Americans failed to win their inde--
pendence he would hold them free from any further obligations 3
to him, but if they were successful he should expect full in--
demnification for his sacrifices. Congress by resolution ac--
cepted this offer, and asked him to repair to Washington's?
headquarters as soon as convenient.
It would be almost impossible to exaggerate the condi--
tions that he found on arriving at Valley Forge. Washing- -
ton had written to Congress that unless something was done,,
the army must either starve, dissolve or disperse to seek food. .
There was neither organization, discipline nor supplies. Men,
enlisted for three, six and nine months, were coming and go-
ing as their terms expired. "Sometimes," wrote Steuben, "a
regiment was stronger than a brigade. I have seen a regiment
consisting of thirty men, and a company of one corporal. There
was no established system of maneuvres, no settled regulations
for discipline or good order, and no uniformity in the service.
26
The soldiers were scattered about in every direction. We had
more commissaries and quartermasters than all the armies of
Europe. The arms were in horrible condition, covered with
rust, many from which a single shot could not have been fired.
The men were literally naked. I saw officers at a grand parade
mounting guard in a sort of dressing gown made of an old
blanket or woollen bedcover. The idea the officers had of their
duty was that they had only to mount guard or put themselves
at the head of their regiment or company when they were go-
ing into action."
Washington at once asked his new assistant to sketch a
plan of inspection, and he undertook the task, knowing full
well how necessary it was to avoid the jealousies of officers
coming from different States, and all looking askance at a for-
eigner. When his scheme was in order it was approved by
Washington and by Congress, and from that date Steuben's
influence made itself felt. He taught the value of an efficient
staff, and provided Washington with one of which it has been
said that it was one which Frederick would not have despised.
The men themselves he had to teach such elementary practices
as presenting arms, firing by platoons and the use of the bayo-
net. He would make his officers drill a single man first, then
a company of six, and so on up to a platoon. "In less than
three weeks," he says, "I executed maneuvres with an entire
division in the presence of the commander-in-chief."
All this was done by a man who had to give his orders
through an interpreter. Of course, he lost his temper at times,
but his patience never gave out. It must have been an amusing
picture to see this military expert trying to drive the first no-
tions of order and discipline into the minds of these rawest of
recruits. Speaking only a few words of English, he would ex-
haust his store of German and French oaths, and then call on
his aide to curse them in English. "Viens, mon ami Walker,"
he would cry. "Vien bon ami. Sacre bleu, gott vertamn, de
gaucherie of dese badauts. Je ne puis plus. I can curse dem
no more." "It was a brave attempt," says His friend North,
"which nothing but virtue, or high-raised hopes of glory, could
have supported."
It must be remembered that Steuben's task was performed
by a man who had for years had charge of the formalities of a
German court, and was accustomed to all the refinements and
luxuries of such a life. Now, however, he got up at 3 a. m.,
smoked a pipe and drank a cup of coffee and was on horseback
27
ready for parade duties at sunrise. Even his imported cook
could not stand what his master did. Finding little to cook at
Valley Forge and no utensils to cook with, the cook asked a
wagoner what he should do. "We cook our meat," was the
reply, "by hanging it on a string, and thus turning it before
the fire." Whereupon the cook presented himself to his mas-
ter and resigned in these words: "Under happier cimcum-
stances, mon general, it would be my ambition to serve you,
but here I have no chance of showing my talents ; and I think
myself obliged, in honor, to save your expense, since your
wagoner is just as able to turn the string as I am."
Three months after Steuben's arrival at Valley Forge Con-
gress showed its appreciation of his services by adopting a
resolution appointing him inspector-general with the rank and
pay of major-general. The army, too, appreciated his work.
There was jealousy when his major-generalship was announced
and later, but officers who first felt hurt were glad to serve un-
der him. After the battle of Stony Point, which was won by
the bayonet alone, the use of which he had first taught our
soldiers, the younger soldiers, when Steuben visited the field,
gathered around him and assured him that thereafter they
would use their bayonets for something else than utensils on
which to broil their steaks. The result of his discipline was
strikingly shown at the battle of Monmouth, where he brought
retiring troops to a stand under a heavy cannonade as easily as
if they had been on a dress parade.
I cannot do the justice of even a mention of the many
things he did in putting our army on an efficient basis. He
wrote the "Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the
Troops of the United States," which was the army blue book
for many years to come. This work of twenty-five chapters
was first written in German, then translated into bad French,
put into good French by his interpreter, and finally translated
into English by his aide, Capt. Walker. He made recommen-
dations, planned campaigns and commanded troops in action
as an officer of the line. With Washington in New Jersey, he
ascertained Clinton's route from Allen town, took a very prom-
inent part in the battle of Monmouth and believed himself that,
in command of the left wing, he saved the day, after having a
meeting with the traitor Lee, who tried in vain to make him
believe that he had mistaken his orders to push on with his
troops. He was with Washington in the camp at Morristown,
where he received neither rations for his servants nor forage
for his horses, and where a loan kept him from starvation.
Then Congress allowed him 250 louis d'ors (which netted him
$575), for his expenses in coming to this country. From
Moristown he was sent by his chief to West Point when Clin-
ton threatened that position, and thus he came to be a member
of the court which passed sentence of death on Major Andree,
He pitied, but could not save, and exclaimed, "Would to God
the wretch who drew him to his death could have suffered in
his place." Sometime later, hearing a soldier answer to the
name of Jonathan Arnold on parade, he called him to his quar-
ters and said : "You are too fine a soldier to bear the name of
a traitor. Change it at once." "But what name shall I take ?"
asked the soldier. 'Mine is at your service," was the reply,
and his name was duly changed to Steuben by the Connecticut
Legislature.
Sent to Virginia to help Gen. Greene when the invasion of
that State by Arnold occurred, he found a condition of things
worse in some respects than he had encountered at Valley
Forge. He remained there until the surrender of Cornwallis,
being in the trenches when that event occurrd, putting forth
all his energy to discipline and reinforce his commander's
forces in the face of almost countless discouragements.
Without attempting to do any justice to his further mili-
tary services we come now to the dark picture which his bio-
grapher draws of the ingratitude of the republic in telling the
story of Steuben's long contest to obtain from Congress some
pecuniary recompense for what he had done. The whole busi-
ness does seem petty in the light of our days, when the nation
appropriates hundreds of millions annually as pensions for
those who rallied to the defense of the nation in her time of
need. But our days are not Steuben's days. The country
then was very poor, the government newly organized, with
scant means of communication, and few newspapers to spread
abroad the story of each man's achievements. Congress was
slow, lamentably slow, in making an appropriation for the
veteran soldier. But let us blame the times and not the men.
In 1782 Congress voted him. $2,400 and $300 per month
to enable him to take the field. In 1787 it voted him a gold-
hilted sword. Finally, after seven years of efforts on his part,
an act, approved June 4, 1790, gave him an annuity of $2,500
during his life, in full discharge of all his demands. Had the
appropriation been larger it would not have gone further with
him ; for he was no financier, and his generosity knew no limit.
29
If he was in funds his table must be filled with guests, and
rank was not regarded in his invitations. "Poor fellows," he
once remarked, when giving orders that some subordinate of-
ficers be invited, "they have field-officers' stomachs without
their rations." When he took up his residence on his farm in
New York State, he made to more than one needy soldier a
present of from forty to one hundred of his acres. Washing-
ton observed that Congress did well to make his recompense an
annuity and not a gross sum, as in the latter case his generosity
would have made him die a beggar. Even this precaution did
not save him from his debtors, and we find on record an assign-
ment which he made in his later years, to cover an indebted-
ness of 2,271 pounds, in which he deeded 16,000 acres of land
and one-fifth of his annuity. Among the creditors named are
Alexander Hamilton and Brockholst Livingston.
If the nation seemed disregardful of Steuben's services,
the States in. which he served most actively did not. Pennsyl-
vania made him a grant of 2,000 acres and Virginia gave him
10,000. What disposition he made of these gifts his bio-
grapher does not say.
We come now to the gift that concerns us locally, and
makes the Baron an object of special interest to Bergen
county. Knapp, in his life of the Baron, says : "New Jersey
had given him a life lease of a forfeited estate of John Za-
briskie, lying in the county of Bergen, township of New Barba-
does, at the New Bridge, in the immediate neighborhood of
New York ; but Steuben, when informed that Zabriskie, in con-
sequence of that confiscation, was left without means, did not
accept the gift, and interposed in behalf of Zabriskie."
If this statement was correct it settled the question of
ownership of the New Bridge estate, without further research.
But as I undertook the work of verification, I found that the
statement was very questionable, and by the expenditure of a
good deal of time and a little money, and the kind assistance
of the State Librarian and the librarian of the New Jersey His-
torical Society, I think I have obtained all the facts as based on
official records.
The New Jersey Legislature passed an act which bears
date of December 23, 1783, setting forth as follows :
"Whereas, the Legislature are informed that Maj.-Gen.
Baron Steuben is anxiously desirous to become a citizen of the
State of New Jersey, and are also impressed with a sense of
the many and signal services by him rendered to the United
30
States of America * * * that that part of the real estate
formerly belonging to John Zabriskie, and which has been for-
feited to and vested in this State, lying, situate and being in
the county of Bergen, township of New Barbadoes, and at the
New Bridge, shall be, and the same hereby is, appropriated to
and for the use of Maj.Gen. Baron Steuben, to hold, use and
enjoy the said estate, and all the emoluments that may there-
unto appertain and belong, in as full and ample a manner as
if the fee simple of the said estate was vested in him. Pro-
vided always, and it is the true intent and meaning of this act,
that the said Maj.-Gen. Baron Steuben shall have, hold, occupy
and enjoy the said estate in person, and not by tenant" ; other-
wise the estate was to revert to the State.
The Baron did not propose to occupy the estate in person,
and to meet his wishes a supplement to this act, bearing date of
December 24, 1784, was passed, which set forth that the Legis-
lature was informed that the conditions of the gift interfered
materially with his views ; but, being "deeply filled with a sense
of the many and signal services by him rendered to the United
States of America, and desirous to testify to the world the
grateful sense they entertain of the said services." therefore
the agent for forfeited estates was authorized to sell this esate
to the highest bidder and pay the money into the State treasury,
and the interest thereon should be paid to the Baron during his
life.
The estate was sold, in accordance with the act, on April
I, 1875, the successful bidder being the Baron's aide-de-camp,
Capt. Walker, and the price bid being 1,500 pounds. But the
terms of payment were not observed, and again the Legisla-
ture manifested its generosity. A further act was passed, bear-
ing date of February 28, 1786, which provided that, if the pay-
ment was not made by the following March, then the Baron
should have the use and benefit of the estate during the time of
his residence in any of the States. The bid for the estate by
Walker was evidently in the Baron's behalf, for we find a letter
from him to Gov. Livingston in the State library, dated No-
vember, 1785, speaking of having purchased the estate, and
complaining that a certain wood lot was withheld at the sale.
Undoubtedly the Baron had not the money to meet the pay-
ment, and this was why the Legislature again came to his re-
lief.
Still he was not satisfied, and once more the Legislature
manifested its generous spirit toward him. An act, bearing
i 31
date of September 5, 1788, was passed, repealinsr all the pre-
vious acts conferring on him any rights in the estate, and pro-
viding as follows :
"Whereas, the Legislature are still anxious to evince to
the world the high sense they entertain of the important ser-
vices rendered to the United States of America, during the
late war by Maj.-Gen. Baron de Steuben; and whereas, the
acts of the Assembly heretofore passed on behalf of said Baron
have been found not to be so advantageous to him as were in-
tended; therefore, be it enacted that (dropping the full legal
text) the Baron be vested with the full title of the State in the
said estate, "for the sole and only use of the said Baron de
Steuben, his heirs and assigns forever."
Thus the State of New Jersey paid finally its share of the
debt which the nation owed to the old soldier. And thus it set at
rest any doubt as to the ownership of this estate by the Baron.
But he did not occupy it. Unquestionably he visited it, and he
had a knowledge of its value. But he needed cash more than
land ; and if you will go down to the court house on the Green
and ask for Liber F of deeds and turn to page 2, you will find
a deed dated three months after this act became a law, in which
for the sum of 1,200 pounds he conveyed back to John Za-
briskie all this estate, "together with all and singular the edi-
fices, buildings, grist mill, barns and stables, fences, right-of-
way, privileges and advantages, hereditaments and appurten-
ances whatever."
In May, 1786, the Legislature of New York, as a public
testimony to his "very essential service," voted the Baron a
quarter section of a township (16,000 acres), a part of the
lands recently purchased from the Oneida Indians. He made
his selection near the present city of Utica, and there he spent
the summers in his later years, returning in the winters to the
city, where he had the entre to the most exclusive houses.
While at his farm, in November, 1795, he was stricken with
paralysis, and he died on November 27. He had made a will
in 1794 in which he gave certain legacies to his servants on
condition that "they do not permit any person to touch my
body, nor even to change the shirt in which I may have died ;
but that they wrap me up in my old military cloak, and in
twenty-four hours after my decease bury me in such a spot as
I shall, before my decease, point out to them, and that they
never acquaint any person with the place where I shall be
buried."
32
He had not designated such a place, but he was laid away
under a group of trees which he had mentioned as a food place
for a man to be buried under. Not many years later a high-
way was laid out directly over his gfraye, and in time the earth
was so worn away that the coffin became exposed, and it is
said that some one opened a corner of it and tore off a piece of
the coat that formed his winding sheet. A friend came to the
rescue, and gave to the Wesleyan Baptist Society fifty acres
of land on condition that five acres, to the middle of which the
coffin was removed, should be kept fenced and uncleared.
I do not doubt that if the Baron had chosen to become an
actual resident of our township, and had died at New Bridge,
we would have seen to it that his grave was properly rever-
enced, and that there would be to him today a monument in
this town erected in grateful tribute to his memory.
33
THE POOR MONUMENT CELEBRATION AT HACK-
ENSACK, OCTOBER 7> 1904.
BY EUGENE K. BIRD.
In preparation for the formal unveiling and dedication of
the monument many private residences, business and public
houses displayed the national colors, some of them being ela-
borately decorated. This evidence of interest in the patriotic
event was an appreciation very encouraging to the committee,
in charge of the celebration, indicating, as it did, that public
spirit was in accord with the demonstration.
Preceding the parade the local committee entertained
the invited guests from abroad at luncheon, served at the
Hackensack Golf Club House.
The parade was under the direction of Maj. Charles F.
Adams, M. D., and Lieut.-Col. Alfred T. Holley, marshals,
the line forming as follows :
Robinson's Fifth Regiment Band, of Paterson; Fifth
Regiment, New Jersey National Guard, Col. Edwin W. Hine,
commanding; Battery A, Field Artillery, of Orange, Capt.
Oscar H. Condit, commanding; delegations of Sons of the
American Revolution, other guests and the committee in car-
riages.
The procession formed on State street at the Armory of
Company G, Fifth Regiment, and covered this course : North
to Central avenue, west to Union street, north to Anderson
square, east to Main street, south to Court square and the
statue. Here the immediate exercises attending the dedication
were carried out at the monment with flawless accuracy of ar-
rangement, an assemblage estimated at 4,000 or 5,000 persons
being massed around the grand-stand. The stand itself was
crowded by delegations of Daughters of the American Revo-
lution from several States, among the ladies being a number of
distinguished for active prominence in the national body of the
organization. Many gentlemen conspicuous in the Sons of the
American Revolution were also present in rcognition of the
34
merit due him in whose name the shaft and figure were set up
as an inspiration to all who love their country.
The formal program of the unveiling and dedication was
as follows : Prayer by Rev. Charles L. Pardee, chaplain New
Jersey Society Sons of the American Revolution ; presentation
of the plot of ground to the municipality of Hackensack by
Mr. B. B. Barkman and its acceptance by the Rev. E. T. San-
ford on behalf of President Jacob Bauer ; unveiling the statue
by Mrs. Frank E. Dunbar, of Lowell, Mass., a descendant of
Gen. Poor, followed by a salute of twenty-one guns by Capt.
Condit's Battery A, light artillery.
The Hon. John Whitehead, president of the New Jersey
Society Sons of the American Revolution, who was the first
speaker, confined his remarks largely to a detail of the work
involved in securing the monument. He gave credit to Eugene
K. Bird, of Hackensack, for conceiving the idea of rearing the
monument; to A. W. Bray, secretary of the New Jersey So-
ciety Sons of the American Revolution and chairman of the
committee, whose alertness, patience, perseverance and deter-
mination were so largely instrumental in carying the enter-
prise to a magnificent completion, and to all others directly
concerned in forwarding the patriotic enterprise.
The Hon. Edmund W. Wakelee, of Bergen county, at
that time president of the State Senate and acting Governor in
the absence from the State of Governor Franklin Murphy,
represented the chief executive. Following Judge Whitehead
Senator Wakelee spoke as follows :
"Ladies and Gentlemen : — It is fitting that at the dedica-
tion of this monument, erected in part through the aid of the
State, that the highest executive officer of the commonwealth
should be present ; but because of other official duties he is pre-
vented from being here, and I have the honor of representing,
upon this happy occasion, his excellency Franklin Murphy,
Governor of New Jersey. He is an honored member of the
Sons of the American Revolution, and commander-in-chief
of the National Guard of this State here represented, and I
know he regrets his inability to be present, as I do my inability
to more worthily represent him and more eloquently to ex-
press thoughts which he would wish expressed.
"It is for others here today to speak of the life and works
of Brig.-Gen. Enoch Poor, whose memory we have assembled
to perpetuate. He served his time and generation faithfully
35
and well, and we serve our time and generation best by being
faithful to the traditions of the past; by honoring those who
by honest work and patriotic service at the birth of this country
as a nation laid the sure foundation of our present greatness
and all our future glory.
"I was more than interested in the diary of Col. Israel
Angell, now in the possession of Judge Angell, of Etna, this
county, where I read under the date of September lo, 1780,
the following:
" 'In the afternoon the remains of Gen. Poor were in-
terred in Hackensack church yard amidst a numerous con-
course of people.'
"Today, one hundred and twenty-four years after that
date, another and more numerous concourse of people is gath-
ered upon this historic spot. But how things have changed
since that September afternoon when those cold remains were
laid in their last resting place over there in the church yard.
Then the articles of confederation had just been adopted by
the Continental Congress, and only the year before had New
Jersey agreed to them. There was no national existence, only
a league of friendship between sovereign States; only one
house of Congress ; no national executive or judiciary, with no
power in Congress to levy taxes or to protect itself, with the
great tractless West unexplored and unknown. Those thir-
teen weak States were even then in the midst of that struggle
which has been the marvel of the world and which resulted in
setting up here the standards of liberty, justice and equality.
"And unlike that other concourse, we are not dressed in
funeral garb ; we are not surrounded by the sound of war and
the dread fear whether our arms would finally be victorious
and freedom be made secure. To-day, becaiise they were faith-
ful and true, we meet happy and prosperous — all citizens of
this greatest, grandest and freest country in all the world, at
peace with all nations."
The Hon. Henry M. Baker, of New Hampshire, a former
member of the House of Representatives at Washington, was
next introduced as the orator of the day. He delivered an ad-
dress embodying a just and comprehensive estimate of Gen.
Poor's life, services and character, given in full in the follow-
ing pages.
The exercises closed with the benediction by the Rev.
William Welles Holley, D. D., of Christ (Episcopal) Church,
Hackensack, and "America," sung by the audience.
36
ORATION UPON THE UNVEILING OF THE STATUE
OF GEN. ENOCH POOR AT HACKENSACK,
N. J., OCTOBER 7, 1904.
BY HON. HENRY M. BAKER, OF NEW HAMPSHIRE.
His Excellency, the Acting Governor of New Jersey, Mr.
President, Members of the Hackensack Commission, Com-
patriots, Ladies and Gentlemen : — By monuments and statues
the living commemorate and honor the dead, illustrious for ser-
vice to country and humanity. Such tributes become incen-
tives to high endeavor and brave deeds. Poets and orators,
sculptors and painters vie with each other to express fittingly
the approbation of the people and the people applaud their best
efforts and achievements. Patriotic societies promote and
sustain this natural tendency to perpetuate the honor of the in-
dividual and the glory of the State and in that they find ample
justification for their existence and prosperity.
The period of the revolution is replete with examples of
the highest excellence in patriotism, personal service and
moral purpose. No other era of our history presents so much
of high thinking and noble action. Then wise statesmen, hrave
as wise, enunciated principles in government which have found
hearty approval wherever men have aspired to personal liberty
and self-government.
They began with the assertion that taxation without rep-
resentation is tyranny and through a series of sagacious
aphorisms declaratory of the rights of mankind passed to those
sublime self-evident truths that all men were created equal and
that governments derive their just powers from the consent of
the governed. The idea of civil liberty grew in their minds
until, before the war ended, they had established upon an en-
during basis the right of mankind to constitutional govern-
ment administered for the benefit of the governed. Wherever
men prayed for liberty and struggled for self-control the suc-
cess of the American revolution gave sympathy and encour-
agement. A new epoch was begun in which manhood was the
Z7
ruling factor and the rights of each were secured and main-
tained through the safety and honor of all.
We cannot too often remember or too greatly honor those
who endured hardships and perils and freely made sacrifices
that liberty might live and men be ennobled by representative
government.
To-day, two of the original States — New Hampshire and
New Jersey — and two societies of the Sons of the Ameican
Revolution representing those States unite in erecting a statue
and monument to the memory of a brigadier-general of the
revolution who served the common cause as the representative
of the one and, dying in the service, was buried in the soil of
the other with the military honors due his rank and merit.
We honor ourselves and our respective States by the re-
spect and devotion we pay the memory of Gen. Enoch Poor,
who enjoyed the confidence and esteem of Washington and
the friendship of Lafayette.
Enoch Poor was born on the 21st of June, 1736, in that
part of Andover in the State of Massachusetts which is now
incorporated as North Andover. The family was of good
English stock. In the mother country it had held responsible
positions in both civil and military life with a marked prefer-
ence for army service. Gen. Poor was of the fourth gener-
ation in America. The homestead farm was on the Shawsheen
River, near its junction with the Merrimack. Both rivers are
of clear water and picturesque beauty. The country is diversi-
fied by hill and valley, river and lake. The combination is
pleasing and inspiring.
Here his ancestors settled in the first half of the seven-
teenth century and at once began to clear and till the soil. His
great-grandfather, Daniel Poor, was one of the town officers
and also a member of the first military company organized in
the town. His father was at the siege of Louisburg in 1745.
They were all of the Puritan stock, faith and practice. Their
homes were religious and their lives exemplary.
Amid such suroundings and influenced by such examples
and instruction the boyhood of Enoch Poor was passed in the
usual routine of New England farm life. His education was
that of the district school and the home circle. He appears to
have been an industrious and thoughtful boy with a wonderful
adaptation to details. Whatever he attempted he generally
accomplished through persistent effort and careful thought.
In his early manhood he was apprenticed to a cabinet-maker
38
and served his time as such. Some of his handiwork remains
to attest his skill and ingenuity.
When nineteen years old he enlisted as a private in the
French and Indian War and was assigned to the expedition
under Gen. John Winslow, which subjugated the Acadians of
Nova Scotia. His brother, Thomas, was a captain in the same
service. A few years later he removed to Exeter, N. H., which
remained his home through life. There he engaged in trade,
but soon became a shipbuilder, employing many men. Before
he left Andover he had fallen in love with Miss Martha
Osgood, the daughter of a neighbor. Col. John Osgood. She
fully reciprocated his attachment, but her father did not give
his approval. So when Enoch Poor called at the Osgood man-
sion for his bride he met with firm opposition. Col. Osgood had
locked his daughter in her chamber. He would not permit
young Poor to see or communicate with her. Defeat for the
lovers seemed imminent. Col. Osgood's tactics appeared to be
beyond their power of resistance or immediate skill. Just then,
however, Martha appeared at her open window and quickly
jumped into Enoch's extended arms. Their marriage speedily
followed and Col. Osgood, in due time acknowledging his de-
feat, became fully reconciled to his son-in-law.
Gen. Poor's married life was happy. Three daughters
crowned the union, each of whom survived him. His widow
resided in Exeter until her death in 1830.
No record has been found which determines the date when
he removed to Exeter and began business there. It was prob-
ably prior to his marriage, but diligent inquiry and search have
failed to discover the exact date of his marriage. It is gener-
ally admitted that he must have established himself in New
Hampshire about 1760, for by 1765 he had become sufficiently
prominent in the town to be one of the thirty principal citizens
who united in an agreement to maintain peace and order dur-
ing the excitement occasioned by the Stamp Act and the de-
termination of the people not to conform to it. Five years
later the town voted not to purchase tea until the tax upon it
should be repealed and to encourage so far as possible the use
of home products. Mr. Poor was one of a committee of six
to enforce the vote. When the Continental Congress of 1774
passed the famous non-importation resolution Exeter ratified
them in town meeting and elected a committee, of which he
was a member, to secure a faithful compliance with them. The
following year he was elected to the third and fourth Provin-
39
cial Congresses of the colony. On the 24th of May, 1775, he
was selected to muster into the service of New Hampshire the
men at Medford under the command of Col. John Stark. The
same day the Provincial Congress, of which he was a mem-
ber, authorized the enlistment of three regiments to serve for
the year and elected John Stark, Enoch Poor and James Reed
colonels to command them. Stark, with about 800 men, was
already encamped before Boston. Reed's regiment was made
up of two companies detailed from Stark and from enlistments
made before and after his election as colonel and soon en-
camped at Charlestown. Both were in the battle of Bunker
Hill. Col. Poor's regiment was to be wholly enlisted and en-
listment papers were promptly issued and rapidly filled. A
careful examination fails to disclose that Col. Poor ever held
a military commission before he was appointed colonel. We
have already noted that he served as a private in the French
and Indian War and he must have had service in the militia
of Massachusetts and New Hampshire. In his business he
had had great experience in the control of men and his ap-
pointment to muster Col. Stark's regiment into the service
indicates that he was known to have military knowledge and
experience. That he was believed to be competent is proved
by the fact that his selection to command the second regiment
appears not to have been criticised and from the further fact
that men did not hesitate to enlist under him. The wisdom
of his selection is attested by his subsequent service. From
May, 1775, until his untimely death, he was constantly in com-
mand of a regiment or a brigade. He was not at Bunker Hill.
Prior to that battle the people of New Hampshire were ap-
prehensive that their territory might be invaded with the pur-
pose of capturing Portsmouth, which led the attack on Fort
William and Mary and Exeter, where the rebellious Provin-
cial Congresses held their sessions. Col. Poor's men were
stationed along the coast, at Portsmouth and at Exeter. At
Exeter they were building fire rafts with which to destroy
any vessels which might attempt to ascend the river. The next
day after the battle the Committee of Safety of New Hamp-
shire ordered the regiment, with the exception of one com-
pany which was stationed at or near Portsmouth, to join the
other New Hampshire troops before Boston and they arrived
there on the 25th of June and encamped at Winter Hill. From
that time until the following March when the British evacuated
Boston Col. Poor and his men were performing their usual
40
routine duty in an army of investment. The records show
that the regiment discharged its full share of guard and fatigue
duty and that the men were perfected in the manual of arms.
The nine months during which the Americans besieged Bos-
ton were valuable to them for instruction and discipline. Be-
fore the evacuation of the city they had learned that a long
contest was inevitable and that they must prepare for it in
earnest. However much the patriots failed to profit by this
experience they knew the necessity for drilled troops and for
long terms of enlistment. They also learned the necessity for
supplies and that the demands of an army are multiform and
incessant. The stern realities of war confronted them and no
man who loved his country could neglect or disregard the
duties of the hour. On the other hand the British had been
taught to respect the foe they despised at first and to recognize
that a man fighting for his home and liberty is a braver soldier
than the hireling of despots.
Boston having been occupied by the patriot army it be-
came evident that the British intended to make New York their
headquarters. Washington immediately ordered a march
upon that city. Among the troops selected for that service
was Gen. Sullivan's brigade, including Col. Poor's regiment.
The British troops evacuated Boston on the 17th of March,
1776, and ten days later Col. Poor and his men marched for
Long Island. Soon after their arrival there they were ordered
with other regiments to join the ill-fated expedition under
Montgomery which had attempted the occupation of Canada.
At that time there were no steamboats and no railroads. The
march of an army was literally a march. All the privates and
many of the officers were on foot. There were few roads and
they were in poor condition. Frequently the troops followed
a trail or cut a road through the forests as they advanced. The
country was too sparsely settled for an army to subsist upon
it and the transportation of munitions and other supplies was
by horse and ox teams or occasionally by boat. Such a march
from Long Island to Canada is a hardship from which the
veteran troops of today would shrink. The patriots began it
without complaint and endured reverses and disasters seldom
equaled. To add to their losses and ill fortune smallpox rav-
aged the American army to such an extent that in some regi-
ments hardly a man was fit for duty. Col. Trumbull said:
"I did not look into a tent or hut in which I did not find either
a deyd or dying man." Everything went wrong and the army
41
abandoned Canada and retired to Crown Point. There a coun-
cil of war was held July 7, 1776, and it was decided to retire
to Ticonderoga, which then became the only fortress held by
the Americans on Lake Champlain,
Against the evacuation of Crown Point Cols. Stark and
Poor, with others, protested in writing and it is conceded that
Washington believed the surrender of Crown Point unneces-
sary and ill advised.
While at Ticonderoga Col. Poor became president of the
court-martial which tried Col. Plazen, who had been arrested
upon charges presented by Gen. Arnold. In the course of the
trial the court refused to admit the testimony of Maj. Scott,
who was one of Arnold's principal witnesses, on the ground
that he was personally interested in the result. Gen. Arnold
protested in a vigorous communication which the court held
to be disrespectful and prejudicial to its authority. They re-
fused to enter it upon their records and instructed their presi-
dent to demand an apology from Gen. Arnold. This Col.
Poor did in a letter which would have done credit to an ex-
perienced lawyer. Gen. Arnold returned an intemperate re-
ply in which he refused to apologize and suggested his readi-
ness to fight a duel with any member of the court. Col. Poor
then reported the whole transaction to Gen. Gates in a cour-
teous and dignified letter, but Gen. Gates thought it unwise to
enforce the rights of the court at that time against an officer
of Arnold's standing and popularity. Hence he dissolved the
court and the trial ended. Col. Poor continued to serve under
Gen, Arnold and did not permit this episode to influence his
conduct toward him. In this he exhibited a magnanimity and
Vdvc of country worthy the emulation of all soljliers.
The British commander, Sir Guy Carleton, went into win-
ter quarters in November and the danger of an attack upon Ti-
conderoga being removed. Gen. Gates sent a considerable part
of his troops to reinforce Washington in New Jersey. Col,
Poor's regiment and two others from New Hampshire were in-
cluded in the order and joined Washington in December. These
troops enabled him to win the battles of Trenton and Prince-
ton.
On the 7th of January, 1777, the army under Washing-
ton arrived at Morristown, where it built log huts and went
into winter quarters. The army suffered for supplies of every
kind. The destitution of that winter was exceeded only by
that of the next at Valley Forge.
42
Gen. Howe occupied New York as his winter headquar-
ters. Neither army engaged in any extensive offensive oper-
ations during the winter. The Americans were active in per-
fecting their mihtary organization, in recruiting and in secur-
ing suppHes. The army was estabhshed upon a more perma-
nent basis, enhstments were made for three years or during the
war and the officers were commissioned accordingly.
To meet the new conditions and to provide for an in-
creased army, Congress appointed additional generals and on
the 2 1st of February, 1777, Col. Poor was commissioned a
brigadier-general. Col. John Stark was the senior colonel
from New Hampshire and had had considerable service prior
to the revolution. He was a brave officer, conspicuous at
Bunker Hill, and had proved himself capable and vigilant at
all times. Therefore when Congress promoted Col. Poor and
other colonels and did not promote him he felt the slight bit-
terly, especially as he believed that his merits had once before
been unrecognized. He at once resigned from the army. Col.
Poor offered to decline his promotion and ask for the appoint-
ment of Col. Stark in his place. This Stark positively refused
and congratulated Col. Poor upon his promotion, which he
said was merited. There was no enmity between them and
they remained friends through life.
In the early spring Gen. Poor was assigned to duty in
the Northern Department and stationed at Ticonderoga. His
brigade was composed of three regiments from New Hamp-
shire and detachments from Connecticut and New York.
It was the purpose of the British commanders to extend
their posts from Crown Point southward and from New York
north until they should have a complete line of fortifications
from Canada to the sea, thus segregating New England from
the other colonies. To that end Burgoyne was to fight his
way to Albany, where forces from Gen. Howe ascending the
Hudson were to join him. The plan was excellent and almost
successful.
Gen. Schuyler, who was in command at Ticonderoga, had
neglected to fortify or occupy Sugar Loaf Hill, which com-
manded the fort. The excuse was that he did not have troops
sufficient to hold both places. This may have been true, but
the result was unfortunate. The British occupied this hill,
sometimes known as Fort Defiance, on the 5th of July, 1777.
A council of war decided to evacuate the fort, which was done
early in the morning of the next day. Gen. Poor favored the
43
evacuation. Congress was excited by the abandonment of the
fort and demanded the immediate removal of Gen. Schuyler
and that the other officers be tried by court-martial. The wiser
and cooler judgment of Washington prevailed. The court-
martial was not held and Gen. Schuyler remained in command
until superseded by Gen. Gates on the 19th of August.
At that time the tide of victory had turned in favor of the
patriots. The advance of the British upon Albany by the
Mohawk Valley had been defeated and the glorious victory at
Bennington under Stark, who had returned to the service of
his country under the authority of his State, had been
achieved. The spirits of the patriots revived and confidence
again ruled in camp and field.
Meanwhile Burgoyne had great difficulty in supplying his
army with provisions. The devastation he had accomplished
counted against him. It was almost impossible to procure
sufficient supplies from Canada and there was no immediate
prospect of a union with Gen. Howe. His Indian allies were
importunate in their demands and failed to obey his orders.
The Americans harassed him upon every side. They had
abandoned Fort Edward ancl Fort George, but they made it
difficult for Burgoyne to profit by their retreat or to follow in
pursuit. Their numbers increased daily and by the time the
Americans were encamped at Stillwater Burgoyne was com-
pelled to provide against an attack upon his rear.
Upon the 19th of September, 1777, soon after noon, the
British attacked the American camp. The battle, now gener-
ally known by the name of Stillwater, ensued. On the part of
the Americans it was almost wholly fought by the left wing,
commanded by Arnold. Gen. Poor's brigade, then consisting
of about 1,600 men, constituted one-half of Arnold's division.
The battle was not decisive, though generally favorable to the
Americans, whose loss was only one-half that of the British.
The total Ameican loss was 321. Of this number Gen. Poor's
brigade lost 217, or more than double that of all the other
troops of the patriot army.
The battle of the 7th of October — one hundred and
twenty-seven years ago today — became a necessity to the Brit-
ish, for inaction was assured starvation. There was no safety
in camp or in retreat. Victory alone could save Burgoyne and
his men. Therefore the British again assumed the initiative.
The attack was met by a superior force and the British were
soon driven from the field. Poor's brigade was in the thick
44
of the fight and in conjunction with Morgan's regiment really
won the battle of Saratoga, as it did that of Stillwater.
Gen. Wilkinson says in his Memoirs : "After I had de-
livered the order to Gen. Poor, directing him to the point of
attack, I was commanded to bring up Ten Broeck's brigade of
New York troops, 3,000 strong. I performed this service and
regained the field of battle at the moment the enemy had turned
their back, only fifty-two minutes after the first shot was fired.
I found the courageous Col. Cilley (of Poor's brigade)
astraddle of a brass 12-pounder and exulting in the capture."
The victory was complete; the enemy being pursued and
driven from his own camp. The surrender of Burgoyne oc-
curred ten days later.
It was well known to Gen. Gates that about 2,000 men
under command of Sir Henry Clinton had left New York and
were marching up the Hudson with the intention of joining
Burgoyne at Albany. They had captured Forts Clinton and
Montgomery and in consequence Forts Independence and Con-
stitution had been abandoned. Everywhere the Americans had
retired before him. Hence it was a matter of supreme import-
ance to occupy Albany before Gen. Clinton could arrive there.
To accomplish that Gen. Poor's brigade marched forty
miles and forded the Mohawk below the falls in fourteen
hours. Clinton, having heard of the surrender of Burgoyne,
returned to New York.
The campaign on the Hudson having ended gloriously,
Gen. Poor and his brigade joined Washington near Philadel-
phia. The battle of Germantown had been fought, nearly won
and then lost. Washington, being urged by the Assembly of
Pennsylvania and some of his officers not to go into winter
quarters, but to attempt the capture of Philadelphia, required
the written opinion of his officers as to the advisability of an
assault upon the city. Four of them favored the attack and
ten, including Gen. Poor, advised against it. The prevailing
opinion was that the army was in no fit condition to risk a gen-
eral engagement which might prove fatal to the patriot cause.
The army went into winter quarters at Valley Forge on the
19th of December. To those who objected, Washington re-
plied as follows : "Gentlemen reprobate the going into winter
quarters as much as if they thought the soldiers were made of
sticks or stones. I can assure those gentlemen that it is a
much easier and less distressing thing to draw remonstrances
in a comfortable room than to occupy a cold, bleak hill and
45
sleep under frost and snow, without clothes or blankets. How-
ever, although they seem to have little feeling for the naked
and distressed soldiers, I feel superabundantly for them and
from my soul I pity their miseries, which it is neither in my
power to relieve or prevent."
Gen. Poor was no growler. He did his duty fearlessly
and so far as possible accommodated himself to his environ-
ment. He wrote few letters. Probably there are not a score
of them relating to public affairs now in existence. Such as
have been found are well expressed, direct and positive.
Just before the troops went into winter quarters he wrote
to a member of his State Legislature, stating their condition
and needs and the duty of the State to them in simple, but burn-
ing words. An extract from that letter is as follows :
"Did you know how much your men suffered for want
of shirts, breeches, blankets, stockings and alioes your heart
would ache for them. Sure I am that one-third are now suffer-
ing for want of those articles which gives the soldier great rea-
son to complain after the encouragement given by the State to
supply those of its inhabitants who should engage in their ser-
vice.
"But there is another circumstance more alarming still;
that is when you engaged your men to serve for three years or
during the war they were promised a certain sum for their ser-
vices ; your State at the same time fixed a reasonable price upon
such articles as the country produced and which they knew
their families must be supplied with which would but barely
support them at those prices. But after they left home it seems
by some means or other the contract on the side of the State
was broken and those very articles which their families must
have or suffer rose four or five hundred per cent.; soldiers'
wages remain the same. How can it be expected that men
under those circumstances can quietly continue to undergo
every hardship and danger which they have been and are still
exposed to ; and what is more distressing is their daily hearing
of the sufferings of their wives and children at home ?
"I don't write this by way of complaint, but do wish that
some mode may be hit upon that the families of those in service
may be supplied or I fear we shall have many of our best offi-
cers resign and many soldiers desert for no other reason than
to put themselves in a way to support their families or share
with them in their sufferings; and should that be the case I
fear the consequences."
46
Later, while in camp, he wrote the Legislature of New
Hampshire: "I am every day beholding their sufferings and
am every morning awakened by the lamentable tale of their
distresses."
Gen. Poor's camp was on the extreme west of the encamp-
ment at Valley Forge. The best that can be said of his troops
is that they suffered no more than the othvs. During the win-
ter a committee of Congress visited Valley Forge and made a
careful report of their observations. In mid-winter Baron
Steuben arrived at the encampment and the troops were sub-
jected to stern discipline and exacting drill. Gen. Lafayette
again joined the army here. Plans were discussed and formu-
lated for the coming campaign. It was not a winter of idle-
ness. On the 7th of May, 1778, there was great rejoicing in
camp. The treaty of alliance with France was announced to
the troops while on parade at nine o'clock in the morning.
The chaplains thanked God that He had given them a power-
ful friend. The troops sang "Praise God from Whom All
Blessings Flow."
Everywhere in camp there was thanksgiving and rejoicing
with cheers for the King of France, for Washington and
liberty.
The encampment at Valley Forge was not broken up un-
til late in June, but on the i8th of May Washington sent La-
fayette with 2,100 chosen troops, including Gen. Poor's brig-
ade, to occupy Barren Hill, an eminence about half way to
Philadelphia. This was Lafayette's first independent com-
mand and it gave him an excellent opportunity to observe and
prove the ability of Gen. Poor. Subsequent events show he
was well satisfied with his ability and efficiency. Gen. Clinton
sent 5,000 troops to surprise and capture Lafayette and his
men.
The surprise was nearly complete, but Lafayette, with
great wisdom and coolness, ordered Gen. Poor to lead the re-
treat, which was done so promptly and in such good order that
their guns were saved and the loss in men was only nine. The
British returned to Philadelphia.
At three o'clock of the morning of the 18th of June Gen.
Clinton began the evacuation of Philadelphia and before noon
his entire army was in New Jersey en route to New York.
Washington had anticipated this movement and immediately
bridges were burned and roads obstructed so as to impede his
progress. A series of skirmishes led up to the battle of Mon-
47
mouth. Clinton did not wish to fight, but desired a safe and
expeditious march to New York. Washington hoped to en-
gage him in battle and win a victory.
Rev. Israel Evans, a native of Pennsylvania and a gradu-
ate of Princeton, was the chaplain of Gen. Poor's brigade. He
was a stanch patriot and a firm believer in the rights of man.
He was one of those outspoken, independent and arrogant men
who
"Would shake hands with a king upon his throne
And think it kindness to his majesty."
When the brigade was about to engage in the battle of
Monmouth it paused for a moment for prayer by the chaplain,
in which he is reported to have said :
"O Lord of hosts, lead forth thy servants of the American
army to battle and give them the victory ; or, if this be not ac-
cording to Thy sovereign will then we pray Thee stand neutral
and let flesh and blood decide the issue."
Each was partially successful. Clinton escaped and
joined his troops to those in New York, but Washington com-
pelled him to fight and would have won a decisive victory had
not jealousy and treachery prevented. The Americans re-
mained masters of the field, but the British fled under cover
of the night so quietly that even Gen. Poor, who was near
them, did not know they were escaping. The heat was intense,
the suffering extreme. The thermometer registered 96 degrees
and the troops contended not only with the enemy, but with an
inexpressible thirst which could not be satisfied. Washington
and the whole army slept upon the field of battle. Gen. Poor
was active in efforts to retrieve the fortunes of the day and re-
ceived the approbation of Washington.
There were in that year no extensive field operations in
the Northern States after the battle of Monmouth. Washing-
ton stationed his army so that it could be easily concentrated
and at the same time restrict the British in securing supplies.
The Southern States were rapidly becoming the theatre of the
war.
By intrigue and purchase the British frequently availed
themselves of the service of the Indians. They were unable
satisfactorily to control them in the camp or in battle. The
hatred and independence of the Americans thus engendered in
the hearts of the Indians broke out in frequent depredations
and in the massacres of Cherry Valley and Wyoming. Wash-
48
ington determined to end these brutalities by such an object
lesson as would prevent their repetition. The so-called "Six
Nations" were selected for punishment.
A total force of about 5,000 men was detailed for that
service. The command was offered to Gen. Gates, but declined
for the reason that in his opinion a younger man was prefer-
able. Gen. Sullivan was then given the command. His orders
were to devastate their country, destroy their villages, crops
and orchards and capture those of every age and sex. Gen.
Poor and his brigade constituted the right wing of Sullivan's
army. Evidently from the records of the expedition he relied
upon Poor and his men for faithfiil service in difficult situ-
ations. The Indians were overtaken on the 29th of August,
1779, and the battle of Newtown was fought. Gen,. Poor was
ordered to gain the enemy's rear. In doing so he encountered
some 600 of the savages and a warm fight took place in which
twenty of them were killed.
The Indians fought from tree to tree until our troops had
gained the summit of the hill and captured their stronghold
by a bayonet charge when they fled in disorder. In his ac-
count of the battle Gen. Sullivan said Gen. Poor, his officers
and men deserve the highest praise for their intrepidity and
soldierly conduct. The bloody work was continued until the
Indians were completely subjugated.
Gen. Sullivan made a full official report of his expedition
to Gen. Washington, in which he gave great credit to his
troops for bravery and efficiency. Upon its receipt Washington
wrote to Congress congratulating it upon "the destruction of
the whole of the town and settlements of the hosile Indians in
so short a time and with so inconsiderable a loss of men," and
to Lafayette rejoicing that the Indians had been given "proofs
that Great Britain cannot protect them and it is in our power
to chastise them." The Indian confederation in New York
was broken and their lands opened to peaceful settlement. A
historian of the expedition has said : "The boldness of its con-
ception was only equalled by the bravery and determination
with which its hardships and dangers were met and its object
accomplished."
It was late in the fall before the expedition rejoined the
main army. Soon after the troops went into winter quarters.
This winter was an exceedingly severe one and the hardships
and suffering endured by the army were scarcely less than those
of Valley Forge.
49
Lafayette, availing himself of the winter's inaction, went
home for a visit, returning the latter part of May with renewed
promises from his government of substantial help. Again he
offered his services to Congress, which were gladly accepted
and recognized by an appointment to the command of a division
to be composed of two brigades of light infantry, a troop of
horse and a battery of artillery.
He selected Gen. Poor to compiand one of these brigades.
The whole division went into camp in New Jersey and the
work of drill and discipline began under his own direction.
Largely by his generosity the soldiers were uniformed. The
division was known as the best clothed, equipped and disci-
plined in the Continental Army. It has been said that in the
essentials of drill and efficiency it equaled the veteran troops
of Europe. By the fortunes of war they were to see no im-
portant service during the year.
While in camp on the 8th of September, 1780, Gen. Enoch
Poor died. Universal sorrow pervaded the army. He was
popular with officers and men. Two days after he was buried
with full military honors. The officers of his brigade followed
immediately after the coffin. Then came Gen. Washington and
Gen. Lafayette and other general officers of the army. The
escort consisted of three regiments of light infantry and a
troop of cavalry. At the grave the chaplain of the brigade de-
livered a eulogy in which he said :
"Oh, sacred liberty! with thee this day we condole the
loss of one of thy worthy sons ! Early he saw thy danger and
early in this contest espoused thy cause. Happily he united
the love and defense of thy glorious person with the practice of
sublime virtue. That glory which results from the generous
protection of the privileges of our country and that righteous-
ness which exalteth a nation he laudably pursued. * * *
"The State of New Hampshire in tears will lament the
loss of a brave defender of her rights. To him she may not
fear to decree the title too rarely found of a patriot. * * *
No charms were powerful enough to allure him from. the un-
utterable hardships of the American war and the dangers of
the field of battle. * * *
"He was an unchangeable friend of the moral and social
virtues and taught the excellence of them more by his amiable
example than by a pompous parade of words without actions.
He was an invariable advocate for public and divine worship.
His virtues laid the solid foundation for all his other excell-
50
ences to build upon and stand immovable amidst all the seem-
ing casualties of time. Intemperance and profaneness and
every vice were strangers to him. * * *
"From the time when he with his country first armed in
opposition to the cruelty and domination of Britain and pre-
cious American blood was first shed in defense of our rights
near Boston * * * he was entitled to a large share of
those laurels which crowned the American arms."
ij One of his staff officers, Maj. Jeremiah Fogg, in the in-
1 tensity of his love and grief, wrote : "My general is gone. A
cruel, stubborn, bilious fever has deprived us of the second
man in the world."
In a communication to Congress announcing his death
Gen. Washington said : "He was an officer of distinguished
merit, one who as a citizen and a soldier had every claim to
the esteem and regard of his country." As a further mark of
respect and esteem the Congress ordered Washington's letter
. to be printed as the nation's tribute to his memory.
I Governor Plumer, of New Hampshire, said of him
' (quoting almost literally from the eulogy of Chaplain Evans) :
"As an officer he was prudent in council and sound in judg-
ment, firm and steady in his resolutions, cautious of unneces-
sary danger, but calm and undaunted in battle, vigorous and
unwearied in executing military enterprises, patient and per-
severing under hardships and difficulties, of which he had
many to endure, and punctual and exact in performing all the
I duties assigned and devolving upon him. His mind was de-
voted to the improvement of the army. He possessed great
self command. * * * jjg promptly obeyed his superior
officers, respected his equal and subordinate officers and
thought no man who was faithful and brave unworthy of his
notice. The soldiers when distressed had free access to him
and he was a father to them."
Of very few of the men famous in civil or military life
during the revolution are there authentic and accurate por-
traits. The friends and relatives of Gen. Poor are to be con-
gratulated that his features have been preserved to them and
posterity by a talented artist known to us more by his generous
j patriotism than by his artistic talent and accomplishments.
I Among the friendships Gen. Poor formed in the army
was that of the distinguished Polish engineer and general,
Thaddeus Kosciusko, who was an artist of considerable merit.
Gen. Kosciusko had several times requested him to sit for his
51
portrait, but he had not done so. One day Kosciusko handed
it to him. Gen. Poor was greatly surprised and asked, "How
is this, general, I have never sat for my picture?" Kosciusko
replied, "I drew it in church on the fly leaf of a hymn book
and have since painted it for you." Gen. Poor presented it to
his wife when on his last visit home. It represents the general
in Continental uniform and is now in good preservation. From
it the oil painting which adorns the hall of the New Hampshire
House of Rerpresentatives and all other pictures of Gen, Poor
have been copied. The graceful statue unveiled today repro-
duces the features preserved to us by Kosciusko.
The war of the revolution is crowded with events of pa-
thetic and dramatic interest. Possibly no life, not even that of
Washington, presents more incidents in the same number of
years to attract the attention and secure the sympathy of the
observant student than that of Gen. Poor. His rank was less
and his field of service more limited than that of many others
and hence he does not fill the space in history to which they are
entitled, but there was no officer in the revolution more con-
scientious or more faithful, who gave more attention to de-
tails and performed within his sphere of action his whole duty
more wisely and discreetly than he whom we now commem-
orate. He was equally beloved by his superior officers and the
soldiers of his command. His courtesy was constant and un-
influenced by rank or position. He was courageous in mind
as well as in body and stood firmly upon the right as he saw
it. He withheld his approval from no one whose conduct was
meritorious or whose intentions were kindly and honorable.
In the highest sense of the words he was a soldier, a pa-
triot and a man. Had his life been spared fresh laurels would
have crowned his work and his chosen State would have en-
trusted to his keeping her dearest rights and conferred upon
him her highest honors.
In behalf of the people of New Hampshire I thank you,
gentlemen of New Jersey, that you have guarded and honored
his memory and his grave and that to-day you have distin-
guished yourselves and them by this further testimonial of your
respect, esteem and love for one of the purest and bravest men
of the most renowned era in our history.
"Long may our land be bright
With freedom's holy light.
Protect us by Thy might
Great God, our king."
52
Papers and Proceedings
OF
The Bergen County Historical Society
] 905-1 906
NUMBER TWO
Secretary's Report, - - - - Abraham DeBaun
Retreat of 76, T. N. Glover
Bergen County Dutch, - - - Rev. John C. Voorhis
Historic Houses, - - - - - Burton H. AUbee
Old Family Papers, - - - - Cornelius Christie
Historical Loan ELxhibitions
List of Officers, 1905-06
Papers and Proceedings
OF
The Bergen County Historical Society
1905-1906
NUMBER TWO
Secretarj''s Report, - _ _ _ Abraham DeBaun
Retreat of 76, T. N. Glover
Bergen County Dutch, - - - Rev. John C. Voorhls
Historic Houses, Burton H. AUbee
Old Family Papers, - - _ - Cornelius Christie
Historical Loan Exhibitions
List of Officers, 1905-06
OFFICERS.
1905-1906.
President — Cornelius Doremus, Ridgewood, N. J.
Vice Presidents — B. H. Allbee, Hackensack, N. J. ;
Isaac D. Bogert, Westwood, N. J.; W. M. Johnson, Hack-
ensack, N. J. ; W. D. Snow, Hackensack, N. J. ; Henry D.
Winton, Hackensack, N. J. ; A. W. Van Winkle, Ruther-
ford, N. J. ; A. DeBaun, Hackensack, N. J.
Recording Secretary — Rev. Ezra T. Sandford, 234
W. nth St., N. Y.
Recording Secretary pro tem — Abram De Baun,
Hackensack. N. J.
Corresponding Secretary — Arthur Van Buskirk, Hack-
ensack, N, J.
Treasurer — James A. Romeyn, Hackensack, N. J.
The officers and the following compose the Executive
Committee — C. Christie, Leonia, N. J. ; E. K. Bird, Hack-
ensack, N. J. ; T. N. Glover, Rutherford, N.J. ; M. T. Rich-
ardson, Ridgewood, N. J.
Archive and Property Committee — Arthur Van Bus-
kirk, J. A. Romeyn.
BERGEN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
MEMBERSHIP LIST. DEC, 1905.
B. H. Allbee Myers Street, Hackensack
Mrs. B. H. Allbee
G. F. Adams, M. D Union
Georg-e G. Ackerman "
W. 0. Allison Englewood— (life)
J. C. Abbott Fort Lee
E. K. Bird Hackensack
H. N. Bennett
A. D. Bogert Englewood
Peter Bogart, Jr Bogota
Daniel G. Bogert Englewood
John W. Bogert Hohokus
Irving W. Banta Hackensack
Charles Brenden Oakland
A. H. Brinkerhoff Rutherford
Matthew J. Bogert Demarest
C. Christie Leonia— (life)
R. W. Cooper New Milford
Fred W. Cane Bogota
George Corsa Ridgewood
Fred'k L. Colver Tenafly
George R. Dutton Englewood
Milton Demarest Hackensack
Cornelius Doremus Ridgewood
Abram De Baun Hackensack
I. I. Demarest
A. S. Demarest "
P. G. Delamater Ridgewood
J. Esray Maple Ave., Hackensack
E. D. Easton Areola
A. L. Englke Englewood
Maud Englke "
S. S. Edsall Leonia
F, R. Ford 24 Broad St., New York
Rev. J. A. Fairley Hackensack
T. N. Glover Rutherford
Coleman Gray Hackensack
AUister Green 1 East Sixty-first St., New York — (life)
Howard B. Goetschius Dumont
MEMBERSHIP LIST
Rev. W. W. Holley, D. D Hackensack
A. G. Holdrum Westwood
Henry Hales Ridgewood
Teunis A. Haring Hackensack
Harry B. Harding "
John Heck Westwood
Rev. Harvey Iserman
Rev. A. Johnson Hackensack
William M. Johnson
Joseph Kinzley, Jr
L. Kirby
Mrs. L. Kirby
W. 0. Labagh
C. R. Lamb 23 SixthAve., New York
W. A. Linn Hackensack
Rev. H. M. Ladd Rutherford
Lewis P. Lord Hackensack
George W. Lyle
Mrs. George W. Lyle
J. C. Lincoln
J. S. Vreeland
J. Vreeland Moore
Dr. L. S. Marsh
Clarence Mabie
D. A. Pell
Fitch Porter Englewood
Rev. Jacob Poppen Midland Park
J. W. Pearsall Ridgewood
Miss Imogene Phillips "
Miss Helen Phillips
C. Romaine Hackensack
James A. Romeyn
J. R. Ramsey
Milton T. Richardson Ridgewood
John H. Riley Hillsdale
Henry M. Rogers Tenafly
Edward Stagg Leonia
Dr. D. St. John Hackensack
Rev. E. T. Sanford West 1 1th St., New York City
H. D. Sewall Maywood
W. D. Snow Hackensack
George T. Schemerhorn Rutherford
Frank Speck Hackensack
Miss Elizabeth Semple 72 Engle St., Englewood
W. M. Seufert
L. H. Sage Hackensack
6 MEMBERSHIP LIST
William R. Shanks Hackensack
H. P. Stoney
Charles G. Seufert Leonia
Rev. D. M. Talmage Westwood
David Talmage Leonia
Peter 0. Terheun Ridgewood
Rev. J. C. Voorhis Bogota
Rev. W. H. Vroom Ridgewood
MissE. B. Vermilye Englewood
Rev. H. Vanderwart, D. D Hackensack
Jacob Van Buskirk
Arthur Van Buskirk
Byron G. Van Home - Englewood
A. W. Van Winkle Rutherford
Rev. J.A. Van Neste Ridgewood
Frank 0. Van Winkle 30 Cottage Pic,
D. W. Van Emburgh
Jacob H. Vreeland East Rutherford
C. V. H. Whitbeck Hackensack
H. D. Winton
Mrs, F. A. Westervelt
Robert J. G. Wood Leonia
G. W. Wheeler Hackensack
E. W. Wakelee Demarest
W. C. Willis Tenafly
Dr. F. A. Young Hackensack
Captain A. C. Zabriskie 52 Beaver St., N. Y. City— (life)
D. D. Zabriskie Ridgewood
Everett L. Zabriskie
HONORARY.
Captain A. A. Folsom Brookline, Mass.
William Nelson Paterson
ANNUAL REPORT
By Abram De Baun, Recording Secretary.
Reports of Secretaries are generally dull reading. They
deal with cold facts minus enlivening fires. The poor Secre-
tary is generally blamed for this resulting condition of affairs
when he should rather be praised, as he is the one that tells
the most truth. He can only state facts as his book of min-
utes discloses them.
Our anniversary dinner last year was replete with honor to
General George Washington, and the speeches all abounded
with full glory of historical research from many different
standpoints. The press announced that its popularity was due,
first, to its one dollar dinner ; second, to the fine speeches we
all listened to ; third, to its social features, and fourth, to the
management by the ladies.
We recall the masterly handling of those 120 historians
there gathered by President Glover, our historical Hercules ;
the interesting talk given us by Burton H. AUbee, concerning
the "Old Houses in Our County," of which so many were
still to be found, and the ideas he advanced as to why histori-
cal spots and buildings should be kept in memory by marking
with monuments and tablets ; the society's detail history by
the Chairman of the General Committee, Ex- President C.
Christie ; the historical sketch of General Washington as de-
lineated by Edward Hagaman Hall ; the historically correct
document of Miss M. E. C. Banker, of Englewood, entitled,
" In Washington's Footsteps" ; " Archaeology, " as shown by
Harlan 1. Smith, who was so honest that he admitted his
knowledge of this grand old County of Bergen was "nil" ; the
merry and witty remarks of both Frederic A. Ober, of this
town, and Miss Adeline Sterling of Englewood, and then the
continuation of this vein of pleasantry by a dissertation on the
good old Dutch tongue by the Rev. J. C. Voorhis. And don't
let us forget the advice given us by the then newly elected
President C. Doremus as to the outline of work to be done In
the then coming year.
8 REPORT OF SECRETARY
Incidentally, it might be rennarked that the general opin-
ion of the Executive Committee, and of those connected
with the society's management is, that our President has
shirked no duly.
So much for our last anniversary. What have we
accomplished since? Nothing? Have we remained in
statu quo ? Oh, no, you would not think so had you attended
and listened to the address given by ex-President Glover (as-
sisted by Burton H. Allbee) in the Unitarian Church, in this
town on the topic of "Washington's Retreat Through Bergen
County," and for which address the Executive Committee ex-
tended a vote of thanks to these gentlemen. And had you
attended the Historical Exhibit given at Ridgewood, N. J.,
under the society's auspices, and feasted upon the historical
relics there gathered together, you would probably come to
the conclusion, that, judging from the large number of an-
tiquities there shown and the general interest manifested in
the exhibit, there is room for several societies of this kind in
our county.
What a fine addition it would be to our museum, if the
Committee on Historical Records could secure for this as-
sociation only a few of these interesting exhibits.
But, alas, this committee asks to be relieved from its
arduous duties of soliciting exhibits, especially so, when they
are advised its President is held personally responsible for the
return (undamaged) of any antiquities that may be loaned for
exhibit and inspection.
The Committee on Historical Sites and marking them
with suitable monuments and tablets has been very active
during the past year. Its members have devoted considerable
time to securing proper data for the location of a suitable
monument on the old "Red Mill Site" at Areola, and while the
monument has not been placed as yet, it is hoped that when
certain minor details are overcome, one of Bergen's largest
boulders will raise its head to show to future generations that this
society marked this historic spot. The celebrated "Washington
Mansion House," on Main street, Hackensack, through this
committee's efforts and by the kind permission of Its present
REPORT OF SECRETARY
owner, Samuel Taylor. Esq., has had placed upon it a suitable
bronze tablet which will be a continual reminder of its occu-
pancy by him whose birthday we annually celeb-ate.
This committee has in contemplation the placing of other
tablets in various parts of our county, in the near future.
The Archives committee has secured and placed in the
Johnson Library building, a fine cabinet to be used for the pres-
ervation of historical matters, and it is sincerely hoped that
all who have in their possession any relic connected with our
past history will forward the same to this society where it will
be sacredly cared for in a fire proof building.
The resignation of the Rev. Ezra T. Sandford, who has
so ably filled the position of recording secretary of this society
from its organization, was presented to the Executive Com-
mittee on December 13, 1905, and accepted with regret by
them. The occasion of the resignation was not loss of interest
in the society and its welfare but his removal to a new charge
in the City of New York. Abram DeBaun was thereupon
elected secretary pro tem.
This is a resume of the Society's work as the minutes
enlighten us, but it shows only a small part of the work done.
The officers and each committee have done a large
amount of work which cannot be shown to you by the Secre-
tary's report.
Our list of membership shows a healthy increase and it is
hoped that each member will appoint him.self a committee of
one to secure further additions, so that the interest in this
n,ble work shall not wane but on the contrary increase.
THE RETREAT OF 76 ACROSS BERGEN COUNTY.
An abstract of a paper read before the Society at Hackensack on
Nov. 20, 1905.
BY T. N. GLOVER.
I note here at the beginning that this evening is the
129th anniversary of the event I shall describe.
In the last six months of the year 1776 affairs in
America vacillated astonishingly ; the feelings of the patriots
went from sanguine expectation to the depths of despondency
and thence to the summit of the highest exaltation. On the
fourth of July they had declared the country free from British
rule, and in less than two months had experienced the crush-
ing defeat on Long Island. They had won in the little skirm-
ish at Harlem but had retreated to the hills of Westchester
county, and the armies had met at White Plains on the hills
just south of the present business part of the village and
fought the battle of Chatterton's Hill. It is counted a defeat
for the Americans, but that is doubtful, for the British re-
turned to New York as soon as possible, leaving the Ameri-
cans undisturbed in their camps but a short distance off. As
soon as the smoke of battle had cleared away, Washington
had called a council of war and the resolution had been
unanimously adopted that since it was evident to all that the
British were planning an attack on New Jersey, the whole
army ought to be led across the Hudson river. The com-
mander had modified this resolution a little and, because of the
feeling in New England, allowed the troops of those states to
remain east of the Hudson under command of General Lee,
until such time as they might be needed.
The battle was fought on October 28, and by November
12 the army, except the garrison at Fort Washington, was in
New Jersey — one part crossing from Tarrytown to Sneeden's
Landing, and the other from Croton Point to Tappan Creek.
General Heath, with a small detachment, held the passes to
the northward — the river and the Suffern Clove. General
12 RETREAT OF '76
Putnam had been appointed to the command of the army of
New Jersey (whatever that may have been), and to General
Greene was assigned the command of Forts Washington and
Lee, under immediate direction of Washington himself.
Washington having spent two days with General Heath, in-
specting the works, crossed the river on November 12, at
King's Ferry, just below Haverstraw, and on the 14th reached
Hackensack, where he immediately established headquarter,
at the residence of Peter Zabriskie — now the Mansion Houses
In spite of the many changes this house has undergone, it
keeps many of its original features and is worth a visit. The
date of its erection seems somewhat doubtful, but if we assign
the year 1750, we shall not err by many years. It was then
a comparatively new house of the good class of Dutch home-
steads. Washington stayed here nearly a week and sent from
it the letter to Lee to join him ; here also Reed wrote his
famous letter about "Fatal hidecision."
Fort Washington remained the sole possession of the
Americans on New York Island. Colonel Megaw, of the
Pennsylvania line, commanded. It was directly opposite Fort
Lee and on a clear day one could easily see it from the cliffs.
It was built in the summer of 76 at the same time as Fort
Lee. The tv/o forts v/ere to work conjointly in preventing the
enemy from going up the river. Garrisons were kept in both
tho' that at Fort Washington was always the larger.
General Howe, the British commander-in-chief, was urged
to attack Fort Washington immediately after the battle of
White Plains, but he waited. His army, especially the
Hessians, became impatient, still he delayed, In these later
years his reasons have become apparent. First he was in the
battle of Bunker Hill and saw the terrible result of storming a
fort held by Americans and secondly he had an agent at work
preparing the way who was not yet ready. On the evening of
November 14, William Dumont, adjutant of the post, left the
fort, taking with him plans and a statement of the distribution
of the garrison and went directly to the headquarters of Lord
Percy. On the 15th, General Howe sent to Colonel Megaw
a summons to surrender. A defiant answer was returned and
RETREAT OF 76 13
on the ]6th the Hessians led the attack. A short, sharp fight
followed and in a few hours the fort that Br.tish officers had
declared all hell could not storm, surrendered and its defenders
were either cut down at their posts or sent to languish and
die in the sugar houses of New York.
As soon as Colonel Megaw had sent his reply to General
Howe's demand, he despatched a copy of it to General Greene
who, in turn, referred it to Washington here at Hackensack.
He at once started for Fort Lee, which he reached after dark.
Then he learned that both Generals Greene and Putnam were at
Fort Washington in council with Colonel Megaw. He started
to join them, but, in the middle of the river, met them return-
ing. A hurried conference was held. His own idea was to
abandon the post and bring off the garrisons, but both opposed
him. Both assured him that a successful defence could be
made ; that the men were in high spirits and anxious for the
fray ; that Congress and the patriots generally expected it ;
that they had passed resolutions concerning it ; that even if the
battle should turn against them the garrison could be drawn off
under the guns of Fort Lee and that here was a chance to re-
deem the disgrace of Long Island. Here came in Reed's
" fatal indecision." Washington yielded and remained with
Greene all night at the Taylor farmjhouse. Little did they
dream of the treachery With which they were dealing.
The fall of Fort V/ashington rendered Fort Lee useless and
its abandonment became only a question of time. An enemy
holding a fort across the river, the river commanded by their
shipping, a navigable river in its rear — all made it decidedly
unsafe. Yet it had been considered quite safe — army supplies
had been gathered there, and Congress had resolved that pris-
oners of war should be transferred there for safe keeping — and
so, when before leaving V/hite Plains, Washington had ordered
the evacuation of it. General Greene had delayed. But now
that Fort Washington was gone he began the work in earnest ;
he even made a memorandum of the march which is still in
existence. As fast as he could get wagons and wagoners, he
sent away the stores, some to Acquackanonk (Passaic),
others to Newark, Elizabeth and Paramus. He posted sen-
14 RETREAT OF '76
tries on the cliffs who should watch the movements of the
enemy. But the army was growing smaller each day ; terms
of enlistment were expiring and the reverses of the campaign
had turned the enthusiastic heat of July into the frigidity of
winter despondency.
Let us picture to ourselves, as best we may, how this fort,
Lee, looked at this time. It was probably not very preten-
tious, though its camps extended over a good deal of ground.
The first mention of it that we have is in Washington's expense
book, where the entry occurs : "To expenses of 'self and party
at Fort Lee, £8 15sh." This was on July 15. 1776. On
September 3d, following. General Mercer was ordered to lay
out additional works and a military engineer was sent him.
Most of our knowledge of it, however, comes through tradi-
tions and remains which lasted long afterward. It was never
destroyed by the enemy ; it simply yielded to the changes of
time and weather. It was little else than earthworks and they
seem to have consisted of :
1. A main earthwork inside of the cliff ; of this not a trace
remains, even in tradition.
2. A redoubt on the bluff somewhat above the present
Main avenue.
3. A large earthwork with bastions on the hill near Park-
er's Pond.
4. Two batteries of heavy ordnance ; the one on the edge
of the cliff below the fort and the other above it at a place
where in the '60s a telegraph line crossed.
Dr. Thomas Dunn English, who is known all over the world
by his song, "Ben Bolt," " Don't you remember sweet Alice,
Ben Bolt," was for years a resident of the present village of
Fort Lee and made the best study of the old fort, not only as it
stood in the '60s, but in Revolutionary days. He says ; "The
main work was a square enclosure about 250 feet on each
side with bastions at corners, a ravelin on the eastern side, and
was litttle more than breast high. Most of the embankment,
beaten down somewhat by time and weather, with the bastions,
RETREAT OF '76 15
the great entrance in the curtains and the demi lune were plain
enough as late as 1855. Now, ( 1871 ), all that is left is part
of the curtains and one bastion." This enclosure was on the
east side of Parker avenue, between Sychon avenue and Eng-
lish street. Now if you would get this matter clear in your
minds, recall the landmarks as you see them in going by trol-
ley from Leonia junction to the present ferry. The car climbs
the hill and goes on into the present village of Fort Lee,
along Main avenue. It crosses the track of the Coytesville
road and you note Schlosser's Hotel on the right. It
goes along till it comes to the corner of Palisades
avenue where it turns to the southward. Five
hundred feet beyond (down Palisade avenue) is the switch
and here the car generally stops. On your left, you notice an
open space extending to the avenue beyond ; on the south, is
a stone church (the Episcopal). Sometimes a little pond oc-
cupies the center of this area, at other times it is dry. That
is Parker's pond and the street, parallel to your track, east of
this is Parker avenue. Looking a little closer, you note a street
running eastward at right angles to Parker avenue — that is
English street. On the north side of this intersection is a
large house, the residence of Mr Becaze which is built close
to, though probably a little in front of the southwest bastion.
The owner told me awhile ago that when he built this house
he removed the last remaining part of the fort. Now if you
will start at the rear wall of that house and measure a square,
250 feet on each side, one side parallel to Parker avenue,
you are tracing the lines of old Fort Lee. In a letter written
just before his death. Dr. English confirmed this locality. But
the roads have changed very much. In the olden times there
was no Parker avenue or even Palisade avenue. Indeed they
did not exist in the boyhood of men now living. The one road
led up from the ferry, which was under the cliffs just east of the
village. The present ferry is not twenty years old. That road
came up the hill at an angle and must have been very steep in
certain parts. It passed over the hill very close to the north-
east bastion of the fort. Many traces of it remain ; many
people can remember the closing up of the last section. Old
16 RETREAT OF '76
buildings are standing which were evidently built beside it.
The site of the Taylor farm house referred to above which
stood by the side of it, is still shown. It intersected the pres-
ent Main avenue just east of Palisade avenue, coinciding with
it as far as Schlosser"s hotel where it bent to the southward and
ran over the hill down to the Leonia road to English Neighbor-
hood. Ex-President Christie writes me "The road from Fort
Lee to the English Neighborhood (Leonia) has been changed
since the Revolution by a bend to the north. This change, I
think, was made at the time of the construction of the Hack-
ensack and Fort Lee turnpike — about 1828. The old road
was only a few hundred feet south of the new turnpike. Mr.
J. F. Burdett of Fort Lee tells me that it intersected the pres-
ent road at Schlosser's hotel." Another road went off to the
southwest below the fort toward Little Ferry and was known
as the "lower road."
A few of the outlying works of the fort remain. Every vest-
age of the old batteries is gone. Mr. Burdett writes me that
some years ago there was a place on the top of the cliff about
400 feet from the point, where it would appear that a swivel
gun had been planted to command the river. I never heard
of any earthworks under the hill, but on the top of the hill or
point of the Palisades, I did while building a summer hotel re-
move some stones which I do believe were placed there by the
army for the sake of defence — they were placed in a circular
form around the point where it would be the natural and easiest
place for an army to attack from the top an enemy coming
from Fort Washington across the river. Rifle pits were
numerous only a few years ago ; some were on the top of the
hill between the road and the fort ; others were opposite
Schlosser's hotel. The camps were extensive and well
planned, but the garrison was never large enough to occupy
them. Opposite the Episcopal church is a well, stoned up
square — now known as Washington's well — ^which tradition
says was dug by the soldiers. While your car was standing
on the switch opposite Parker's pond, had you looked to your
right, you would have seen some ice houses. The brook that
flows past them is the same now as when the soldiers drew
RETREAT OF '76 17
from it their supply of water. Just up that brook is an em-
bankment which appears to have been part of a redoubt. It is
built with sharp angles and is now about breast high and per-
haps 200 feet long. Gen. Morgan's men were encamped there
for some time. Right beside the road some of the old fire
places are standing. 1 have dug charcoal out of them. They
are built by piling up stones against a rock so as to form
jambs, and kettles could be set directly on them. One who
sees them will not fail to recognize them. On the hillsides
around Suffern, N. Y., and in the Ramapo pass are many of
them, of which family tradition gives the history and family
pride preserves. Opposite Schlosser's hotel, too, were a few
years ago remains of soldiers' huts.
This is about all we need to say about Fort Lee. Its life
was of only a few months' duration and its garrison always
small. Our old maps show some errors — we can call the
statements by no other term and many cannot be reconciled
with established facts.
I now resume my narrative. Fort Washington had fallen
and General Greene was busy sending away the stores at Fort
Lee. Washington was in Hackensack writing letters to Con-
gress, to the Governor of Nev/ Jersey (Livingston), and
others, urging measures for recruiting the army, even though
he was discouraged at the apathy of the states. The 15th
of the month passed, the 16th, the 17ih.and the 18th — all was
quiet. The night of the 19th was dark and rainy. Then it
was that Lieutenant-General, the Earl Cornwallis, bosom
friend of General Howe, left the New York side of the river
with 6,000 men and landed at the foot of the Palisades at the
old Closter landing. A queer picture of this landing represent-
ing soldiers scaling the heights by a blind road, was found
some years ago in a country house in England among the
papers of Lord Rawdon, an English officer, and was later pub-
lished in Harper's Magazine. Before daylight his troops stood
on the top of the Palisades, about five miles above Fort Lee.
and one and a half from the Liberty pole. General Greene
had posted sentinels in expectation of this move, but he says
they kept such a slack watch that the enemy had scaled the
RETREAT OF '76
heights before they knew it. News came to General Greene
while in bed. The men were preparing their breakfasts, but
he at once ordered them into line for the retreat (at first he
thought he would give battle but he soon gave up that idea),
and sent a despatch to Washington at the old house on the
Green. Then began the march from darkness to daylight ;
from weakness to strength.
Records relating to this march are very full and there
need to be little mistake in regard to it. Washington and
Greene, Howe and German diarists, besides contemporary his-
torians, have left accounts. Good maps exist, and yet there
are many points omitted which we, here on the spot, would
like to know. Washington's account shows that he was some-
what misinformed and nervous. He says in his letter to the
president of Congress: "As Fort Lee was always considered
only necessary in conjunction with that on the east side of the
river, it has become of no importance by the loss of the
other. Viewed in this light and apprehending that the stores
would be precariously situated their removal has been deter-
mined on. The troops at Fort Lee will continue till the stores
are got away." Then he adds to this letter which had been
held two days: "Yesterday morning a large body of the
enemy landed between Dobbs Ferry and Fort Lee. Their
object was evidently to enclose the whole of our troops and
stores that lay between the North and the Hackensack rivers
which form a very narrow neck of land. For this purpose
they marched as soon as they had ascended the high grounds
towards the fort. Upon the first information of their having
landed and of their movements, our men were ordered to meet
them, but finding their numbers greatly superior and that they
were extending themselves to seize on the passes of the river,
it was thought prudent to withdraw our men, which was
effected and their retreat secured. We lost the whole of our
cannon except two 12-pounders and a great deal of baggage,
between 200 and 300 tents, about 1 ,000 barrels of flour and
other stores in the quartermaster's department. The loss was
inevitable. As many stores had been removed as circum-
stances and time would permit. The ammunition had been
RETREAT OF '76 19
happily gotten away. Our present situation between the
Hackensack and the Passaic rivers is exactly similar to the
late one, and we are taking measures to retire over the waters
of the latter."
On the next day Washington writes to General Lee in a
similar strain, yet in a day or two General Greene writing to
Governor Cooke, of Rhode Island, says that many of the re-
ports current about the evacuation, are false. Not an article
of military stores (or anything worth mentioning) was left
there, for everything had been sent on ahead and the road was
clear. Yet General Howe, in his report, confirms in a general
way Washington's statement, and the question arises how
valuable were these cannon ? The tents undoubtedly were a
sad loss. But let me quote General Greene's whole report :
"The loss of Fort Washington rendered Fort Lee useless ;
his Excellency ordered the evacuation accordingly. All the
valuable stores were sent off. The enemy got intelligence of
it, and as they were in possession of Harlem river, brought their
boats through that pass without our notice. They crossed the
river on a very rainy night and landed about five miles above
the fort, about 6,000 strong, some say 8,000. We had at Fort
Lee only between 2,000 and 3,000 effective men. His Ex-
cellency ordered the evacuation immediately. We lost a
considerable quantity of baggage and a quantity of stores.
We had about 90 or 100 prisoners taken, but these were a
set of rascals that skulked out of the way for fear of fighting.
The troops at Fort Lee were mostly of the flying camp, ir-
regular and undisciplined, and had they obeyed orders not a
man would have been taken. I returned to camp two hours
after the troops had marched off. Colonel Cornwall and
myself got off several hundred men, yet notwithstanding all
our efforts near a hundred remained in the woods. We re-
treated to Hackensack."
Tom Paine 's account is probably the best known but by no
means the most accurate. He was serving at the time as
aid to General Greene. It is the first of a series of articles
which had great influence, called "The Crisis". He says :
"As I was with the troops at Fort Lee and marched with
20 RETREAT OF '76
them to the edge of Pennsylvania, I am well acquainted with
many circumstances which those who live at a distance know
little or nothing of. Our situation was exceedingly cramped,
the place being on a narrow neck of land between the North
river and the Hackensack. Our force was inconsiderable, be-
ing not one-fourth so great as Howe could bring against us.
We had no army at hand to relieve the garrison had we shut
ourselves up and stood on our defense. Our ammunition,
light artillery and the best part of our stores had been re-
moved on the apprehension that Howe would endeavor to
penetrate the Jerseys, in which case Fort Lee could be of no
use to us. for it must occur to every thinking, man whether in
the army or out, that these kind of field forts are only for
temporary purposes and last in use no longer than the enemy
directs his force against the particular objects which such forts
are raised to defend. Such was the condition and situation of
Fort Lee on the morning of the 20th of November, when an
officer arrived with the information that the enemy, with 200
boats, had landed about seven miles above. Major General
Nathaniel Greene, who commanded the garrison, ordered
them under arms and sent express to General Washington at
the town of Hackensack, distant by way of the ferry, about six
miles. Our first object was to secure the bridge over the
Hackensack, which lay up the river between the enemy and us,
about six miles from us and three miles from them. General
Washington arrived in about three-quarters of an hour and
marched at the head of the troops toward the bridge, which
place we expected we should have to brush for ; however, they
did not choose to dispute it with us and the greatest part of
our troops went over the bridge, except some which passed at
a mill en a small creek between the bridge and the ferry
and made their way through some marshy ground up to the
town of Hackensack and then passed the river. We brought
off as much baggage as the wagons could contain — the rest
was lost. The simple object was to bring off ihe garrison and
march it till it could be strengthened by the Jersey and Penn-
sylvania militia so as to be enabled to make a stand. * *
Our troops remained at Hackensack bridge and town that day
RETREAT OF '76 21
and half of the next, when the inclemency of the weather, the
want of quarters and the approach of the enemy obliged them
to proceed to Acquackanonk."
Irving's "Life of Washington," being simply a compilation,
gives no help; no more does Chief Justice Marshall's, or
General Howe's report. Steadman is the great English
authority ; he does not differ from the others. The Rev. Wil-
liam Gordon, of Roxbury, Mass., published a history in the
'90s which is regarded as a very valuable work. Congress
gave him access to government documents, and General
Greene gave him much information. His story is as follows :
"On the 18th (of November) in the morning, Lord Cornwallis
landed near Closter, only a mile and a half from the English
Neighborhood. News of this movement was brought to Gen-
eral Greene while in bed. Without waiting for General Wash-
ington's orders, he directed the troops to march immediately
and secure their retreat by possessing themselves of the Eng-
lish Neighborhood. He sent off at the same time information
to General Washington at Hackensack town. Having gained
the ground and drawn up the troops in the face of the enemy,
he left them under command of General Washington and re-
turned to pick up the stragglers and others, whom, to the num-
ber of about 300, he conveyed over the Hackensack to a place
of safety. By this decided movement of General Greene's,
3,000 Americans escaped, the capture of whom at this
period must have proved ruinous. Lord Cornwallis' intent
was evidently to form a line across from the place of landing
to Hackensack bridge and thereby hem in the whole garrison
between the North and the Hackensack rivers, but General
Greene was too alert for him. His Lordship had but a mile
and a half to march, whereas it was four from Fort Lee to
the road approaching the English Neighborhood. General
Washington arrived, and, by a well concerted retreat, secured
the bridge over the Hackensack.'*
From these reports and with our knowledge of the country
let us construct the story, noting discrepancies of dates and
distances. On the night of Nov. 19, 1776, Earl Cornwallis, a
brave and capable officer, a bosom friend of General Howe,
22 RETREAT OF '76
the British commander-in-chief, acting under direct orders
that we can never know, crossed the Hudson river and scaled
the PaUsade cliff, by means of the old Closter landing road
which led away to Paramus. Before daybreak he was on
the heights and was marching towards Fort Lee. He was
not foolish enough to think he was surprising the Americans — ■
neither party in those days could make the slightest move-
ment without his opponent knowing all about it — so he did
not hasten. He knew well that the Americans had been
evacuating the post several days and that certain acts of their
congress had not been executed because of it. When he
formed his columns on the heights he was only two miles from
the present Englewood, and from Fort Lee only about five. By
what road he marched, it is now impossible to say ; some
persons tell me there are remains of an old road on the top of
the Palisades and they can be seen at points south of Englewood,
others say they never heard of the road. But the statement
of Washington and other Americans that he was spreading
out his troops to form a cordon from river to river is not
borne out by facts as we can see them now. It was purely
imaginative just as we now know that General Greene could
have let the men get their breakfasts and save their camp
kettles before they marched. The English must have kept
well up the hill and Mr. Gordon's statement that General
Greene drew up his line in the face of the enemy cannot mean
that the enemy was very near. When the news of this ap-
proach reached the Americans at Fort Lee, their camp ket-
tles were over the fires and breakfast was preparing. General
Greene, whose first thought was battle, ordered a retreat.
The evidence seems to show that he did not wait for orders
from Washington but set his column in motion as soon as
possible. To make the bridge was the quickest and surest
— to go to the ferry was to lose time because boats had not
been gathered there. So over the hill toward Leonia they
came — hungry and cold — but determined. An English officer,
who evidently pitied them, wrote, "I believe no nation ever
saw such a set of tatterdemalions. There were but few coats
among them but what are out at the elbows and in a whole
RETREAT OF '76 23
regiment there is scarcely a pair of breeches." I may add.
boots and shoes were very scarce, though that did not make so
much trouble as it would now, for people went barefoot so
much. They reached Leonia and swung into what is now
Grand avenue, then the King's road, (for there was no
possibility of crossing at this point) and went on to
the Liberty Pole, now Englewood. They expected
to fight — a most natural idea since the enemy had
been in the neighborhood for hours — but no resist-
ance was shown, and General Greene, giving up command to
Washington, returned to the fort to collect stragglers. He
had been gone two hours, but no enemy was there. He
gathered together 200 men and probably led them across the
dam and down to the ferry. Dr. English, who had the benefit
of close touch with men of '76, speaks of this crossing as
"by the beaver dam." (Where was this?) When Wash-
ington took command he led the army across the swale by the
road that leads to Teaneck hill, except that the road today is
much straighter than it was then. Once on that hill he
turned and followed up to the present road to New Bridge. I
do not find that this road has been changed much, except that
now one approaches the bridge directly by a new street a few
blocks long. He went around the hill. During the march
from Liberty Pole the army had felt comparatively safe and
crossed the bridge with light hearts. No description of this
bridge exists. Tradition says that it was built a few years
before the Revolution in the interest of up-country people who
wanted a more direct route to New York than had existed.
It is marked on all the maps of the day and called the New
Bridge. Army men wrote of it as Hackensack bridge and
rem.ains of fortifications, built within two years of this event,
are there. It is said that it crossed the river at an angle, the
abutment on the east side being furthest up the river. It was
probably of wooden stringers resting on framed supports. It
was considered quite strong. Once across the bridge, the
army followed the present road past the old Baron Steuben
house directly towards the south side of Cherry Hill, cross-
ing the bridge and thence direct to Hackensack. The road
24 RETREAT OF '76
has been changed but little. A detachnient was left at the
bridge with orders to give alarm if the enemy should appear.
The men could not have been entirely without food. They
had blankets. One person who remembered seeing them told
Mr. Barber that they marched into Hackensack and encamped
on the Green after dark and the rain was falling. Possibly
they spent the day between the village and New Bridge. No
one mentions receiving food from the people along the road.
This was on the 20th, and in the afternoon of the next day,
the 21st, a detachment of Hessians and English marched up
the east side of the Hackensack from the ferry. English
maps say that the Americans crossed at the ferry and General
Vaughan was following them. They did not attempt to cross
the river but that night their camp fires stretched from below
Bogota to New Bridge, and Washington may have looked out
at them from his headquarters across the lonely grave yard.
They did not arrive on the Green till noon of the next day
(22d), when the Hessians, with their big hats and fierce
mustaches, were objects of curiosity to the inhabitants.
Mr. Paine says the army remained in Hackensack one
and a half days, so it must have left at noon on the 21st.
Washington must have remained, behind because the conver-
sation with Mr. Campbell took place in the iorenoon after
Washington had been down to the river to view the British
camp.
It was evident that the army must move again. So on the
21st down Main street it marched, into Essex, across the
present railroad and up to the Pollifly road. Here it turned
and marched down to the old Kip house recently burned.
Somewhere in that neighborhood a brook flowing from the
hill crossed the road and ran down into the swamp. Right
beside that brook the lower road to the present village of
Lodi branched off over the hill. It could never have been
much of a road for old settlers referred to it as Cow lane and
It is said to have reached the Paramus road between the
houses of Richard Terhune and Dick Paul Terhune. Mr.
Haggerthy of Lodi showed me the bed of it about 500 feet
back of his house just beside the present trolley line and he
RETREAT OF T6 25
knew of it at the corner where the trolley line crosses the
present road beyond his house. The present lower road from
Hackensack to Lodi was built in 1824 but this old road was
in use even later. Just north of the Kip house today is a
narrow strip of land covered with trees and bushes running
over the hill to the westward, crossing the Newark
trolley just below the Lodi switch and then continu-
ing until it comes near to the village. I think
this must be the old road bed ; if it is not, the
old bed is not far away. Into this road or lane the
men turned — it was the shortest way — followed it over to the
old Paramus road and turned down toward Acquackanonk
bridge. (There is a story that in following them the British
Colonel HarcDurt did not take this road but went down by
Carlstadt and East Rutherford. ) This road has been changed
a little since those days, but they must have reached the
bridge about noon. The story that the British was close after
them is not true. Mr. Nelson describes this bridge. "It had
been erected about ten years before by an act of the legisla-
ture. It was a frail structure, v/ith spans eighteen or twenty
feet long and abutments of logs ; its piers were of timber
partly resting on cribs filled with stones and partly driven into
the bottom of the river. It was twelve feet wide — one wagon
or four men could cross. The western abutment rested where
Speer's store house now is." I may add I have always un-
derstood the eastern abutment rested in the door yard of the
present Simmons house. The army crossed it undisturbed,
and as a matter of safety the bridge was ordered cut down
Mr. John H. Post, whose grave may be seen in the old yard at
Passaic, volunteered to lead the gang of workmen. Here
traditions conflict ; one declaring that it was only weakened
and the other that it was totally destroyed. The first seems
to have the weight of authority. When it was done is also
uncertain ; but probably not till next day when the
British were approaching. Colonel Harcourt did ap-
pear with his forces on the 22nd, but when he crossed we
know not. Earl Cornwallis, having received re-enforcements
of two brigades, arrived on the 26th and crossed by the ford
26 RETREAT OF '76
just below the present Dundee dam. Mr. Nelson outlines his
march : "Down the road now covered by the Dundee drive,
Lexington avenue and Main and River roads," Washington
had left for Newark, one column going by the river road and
the other over the hill.
And now that Washington and his army are beyond
Bergen County my task is ended. The story is of interest
to us living along the line of march and looking daily
on objects associated with it, but it has a greater interest for
every student of the Revolution. I mean the military side of
it. That march began on November 20th and the advanced
guard reached the Passaic river — fifteen or sixteen miles dis-
tant on the 22nd. Such rapid marching must have made
those well fed Hessians and Britishers pant and sweat. It is
true that armies often march twenty miles and more in a day,
but that was not done in invading New Jersey. What shall
we make of this? Were General Howe and General Corn-
wallis such very inefficient leaders ? Very far from it. This
slow marching was part of the policy of the war. Neither
general wanted to capture the American army. Keep it
on the march ; drive it into the back country ; make it a
guerilla band. A German officer has written in his diary
(he intended his remarks to be sarcastic) that General Corn-
wallis had orders to chase the Americans, come up
to them but not disturb them. Von Hiking in his work says
that in this very march on Fort Lee, one Captain Ewald was
leading the advance when he discovered the American troops
in their flight. He halted and sent word to Cornwallis and
was ordered to fall back until the whole army could be brought
up, and that took such an astonishingly long time that the
Americans got away. Both generals were members of Parlia-
ment and had steadily voted against the war, and the ap-
pointment of General Howe had called forth from the ministerial
party a storm of criticism. Everywhere did the Howes hold
out the olive branch, and no man surpassed Cornwallis in the
good opinion of the Americans. They knew what we admit
today, that 90 per cent, of the American people were loyal to
old England, but were incensed at the measures which an in-
RETREAT OF T6 27
efficient parliament, driven by the party whips in the hands of
grafters and army contractors, was enacting. They knew, too,
that there were strong men in that Parliament who saw in these
measures grave dangers to English trade, English freedom, in-
deed to the English realm itself. All these men could do was
to protest, and to keep Americans quiet as possible. Let the
army there do just as little as possible. As soon as Parlia-
ment could change, modify the objectionable laws and make
peace on a permanent basis. The time did come but it was
too late for the glory of old England. So all these men stand
out in that winter of 1776-77, as men loyal to their country,
not as partizans, but as statesmen and freemen.
Note — Since the above was put in type a gentleman from Englewood has
told me that he knows of several patches of remains of an old road along the cliffs,
and Colonel Sweeting Miles, of Alpine, has written me "Traces of a road can still be
plainly seen, which, it is said by tradition, was the work of a detachment of men
from Lord Howe's force when they brought up some artillery, and it is still called
Lord Howe's path. The public road was changed 40 years ago or more, but part
of the old road can still be traced."
BERGEN COUNTY DUTCH.
Read at the Annual Dinner, Feb. 22, 1905.
BY REV. JOHN VOORHIS.
In Holland there is so much difference in the language as
spoken in the different provinces, that in some cases the in-
habitants of one province can only v/ith difficulty understand
the inhabitants of another, as for instance those of Zealand
and those of Groningen.
The early settlers of Bergen County, who came largely
from the different provinces of Holland, by their intermarriage
and social intercourse, gradually moulded the language known
as "Bergen County Dutch" into its present shape. This was
a mixture of Holland dialects with poor English and the for-
mative process must certainly have been a confusing one.
There was no text book as a standard as far as I know, but the
language was handed down orally with added corruption from
parents to children. This is as near as we can get to the
origin and history of the Bergen County Dutch language. Its
origin is so beclouded that it may be compared to the Melchiz-
ideck priesthood, without father, without mother, and without
descent. Now, it is this fatherless and motherless Bergen
County Dutch baby that I am asked to stand sponsor for.
With this language I have a slight acquaintance, and on
my late European tour I found it very helpful, especially at
Nippel, in the province of Drenthe, where we found typical
Hollanders, and also at Scheveningen, which is the seaside
summer resort of the Netherlands. At the latter place I
found myself one morning with a company of Holland fisher-
men who were standing at the seashore. Finding that they
could not understand English I sprung upon them some of my
Bergen County Dutch, to which they answered with a look of
amusement "Where hab yei dot gelaret ?" "Dot is Jersey
Dutch von Yankeelandt," was my reply.
I will now give you a bit of our Revolutionary history in
30 BERGEN COUNTY DUTCH
connection with the people who spoke this Bergen County
Dutch, a page that to my knowledge has never been written.
These early Holland immigrants came here with an ar-
dent love of liberty and there were few of them who did not
side with the colonies against the King. They learned their
lesson at their mother's knee and the most interesting fireside
stories told them were those relating to the valor of their an-
cestors under the Prince of Orange who secured for Holland
the priceless blessings of civil and religious liberty.
My great grandfather, Albert P. Voorhis, whose ancestors
came here from Holland in 1660 and settled at the place now
known as Areola (formerly Red Mills) in this county, was a
soldier in the Revolutionary army — a private in the Bergen
County State Militia. During the war he was shot at by the
Hessian troops, who were then prowling through the county
and who often made raids upon the homes of those who were
known by them as rebels. These Hessians were aided by Tory
spies who piloted them in their raids. Grandfather, when not
on duty, would stealthily visit his home, and on one . of these
visits in company with a neighbor militiaman whose name was
Hopper, the Hessians, apprized of it, made a sudden raid on
his home, and he and his companion fled for their lives to the
woodland nearby, known as the Spront Woods. In their flight
they were shot at by the Hessians and his companion was
killed. During the war he could not sleep at home, but was
obliged to secrete himself in the woods, hay barracks or some
other secluded place. At the time when the Hessians raided
his home, as 1 have mentioned, after they had shot his com-
panion, they returned to the house and endeavored to intimi-
date grandmother (whose maiden name was Mary Doremus)
and compel her to show them where her silver and valuables
were kept, and when she refused to do this they thrust her in
one of those old blanket chests, some of which are still to be
found in these parts, and then prodded her with bayonets.
In one of these raids the Hessians took prisoner one of
grandfather's neighbors, an intensely enthusiastic patriot, who was
called by his Dutch acquaintances Koning Yawp, or King
Jacob. This man was extremely outspoken in manner, and
BERGEN COUNTY DUTCH 31
often expressed himself in terms highly uncomplimentary to
his Majesty, King George the Third, and his army. While
King Jacob was confined in the famous Old Sugar House
Prison, near Christopher street, New York City, he was often
taunted by the British Guard as a rebel cooped up, and soon
to be taken out and hanged.
Upon the birthday of King George, which was a holiday
for the British troops, he was asked to drink a toast with them
to the King's health. The British guard first drank to the
toast, and then King Jacob, raising high his glass, in a loud
voice cried, "Here goes to the health of General Washington
and the success of the Continental Army, and death and
damnation to all our enemies, and may King George and his
Tory friends be hung as high as Haman." This so enraged
the British that the officers of the Guard immediately put him
in irons, on a diet of bread and water.
As you follow Passaic street, Hackensack, the road lead-
ing to Areola, near the house of Isaac I. Voorhis, you will see
to your right a little clump of evergreens pointing heavenward,
that stand as silent sentinels over the mortal remains of some
of our patriot ancestry. May our Bergen County Historical
Society ever keep green their memory, and engross upon the
pages of our history their valorous deeds as an inspiration to
future generations.
HISTORIC HOUSES IN BERGEN COUNTY.
BY BURTON H. ALLBEE.
It has been well said that the character of people could
be told by a study of their architecture. And this statement
has received many confirmations through history. In a less
degree the character of a community can be understood by the
dwellings its inhabitants erect. Men of weight in a community
will nearly always be found living in substantial homes. If a
man loves ornament and show his home will be elaborately
decorated, and his grounds will be more or less elaborate, as
fancy may dictate or as other influences may determine. The
cities and towns of this country are given character by the
dwellings and business houses of their substantial men.
Accepting this reasoning as true, the character of the
houses built by the early Dutch settlers of Bergen County bears
testimony to the solidity of character, and the substantial
nature of their builders. They undoubtedly built their homes
to suit themselves, and in so doing, they erected monuments
which have lasted through the decades and stand now, some of
them more than two centuries old, as striking examples of
strength in home building. The homes were typical of the
characters, and the early settlers of the country were only fol-
lowing the dictates of their own inclinations when they con-
structed dwellings which have outlasted the generations of their
builders.
Scattered all over the county are stone houses in an ex-
cellent state of preservation, and which, after two centuries of
constant use, are now as sound as when erected, and promise
to outlast the generations of another two hundred years. Un-
fortunately many have been torn down to make way for some
modernly designed monstrosity which has no claims to archi-
tectural beauty and certainly lacks the substantial comforts
which were and are an important feature of the early style.
There are left probably one hundred houses which have seen
a century. Some are one hundred and fifty years old, and
34 HISTORIC HOUSES IN BERGEN COUNTY
some are two hundred and more. Some of tho oldest have
been most carefully preserved, and are now in a good state of
repair. Others are being permitted to fall to decay. Crumbl-
ing walls, broken doors and windows, and other evidences of
the ravages of time are the lot of a few. It is a thousand
pities that the descendants of the families who built them, and
who have passed many years under their roofs, cannot care
for the old buildings, and see that they are spared the hand of
the vandal and the ravages of fire and time. Such historic
monuments are too rare to permit them to fall to ruin. The
new architecture has nothing that compares with them.
A trip through the county will show these buildings every-
where. Around them cluster numerous historic facts and
legends of the Colonial time. Then they saw the Revolution-
ary struggle and finally their owners had a part in making this
county what it was after that struggle was over and peace once
more settled upon the land. Then, as now, Bergen was no
mean county. Then, as now, her inhabitants bore an import-
ant part in state and national affairs. Then, as now, Bergen
was a power. History and legend should be separated, yet
both are important and deserve to be preserved. If legend
creeps into the story of these houses it will not detract from
the interest. It may add some light to the facts which have
come down to us as representing the life of early times.
The county was settled by Dutch and English, the Dutch
in the middle and northern sections, the English in the
south. Possibly the lines cannot be closely drawn, but this
will differentiate the two and will serve as a reasonably accur-
ate basis for considering the houses and their treatment in
separated portions of the county. Further, in considering the
houses built by the early settlers, account should also be taken
of those which are still standing in Hudson County, once a part
of Bergen. Substantially the same influences governed the
settlement there which were operative here and the character
of the homes was the same. The Dutch house was built of
stone, in most instances rough rocks picked out of their fields.
Many of them were made from models with which the people
had been familiar in their home country. Holland i5 a l^nd
HISTORIC HOUSES IN BERGEN COUNTY 35
of winds and the houses were built low, largely to escape the
effects of severe winds which sweep across the plains and low
lands. The same influences prevailed here and a series of
lew houses, constructed upon the Dutch models which had
been followed for centuries, were built. They were low, but
spacious ; plain, but comfortable ; severe, but attractive. They
were made to stand and they have justified their builders' ef-
forts by withstanding the storms and stresses of centuries.
In some instances a small building was evidently first
erected which might have contained two rooms, one on the
ground floor and one above. This was ten to twelve feet
square. It was usually built of rough, undressed stones with
mud for mortar. Straw, which grew on the neighboring fields,
was used to bind the improvised mortar together. These
buildings, or parts of buildings, may be considered as forming
the type of the first period. A few large houses were built in
this way and they are the earliest structures which are left
standing. Some are crumbling, neglect of proper repairs hav-
ing afforded the weather opportunity to disintegrate the mortar,
and the walls are falling.
Probably as years progressed and the families increased in
size more room was required. In several instances the main
house followed immediately afterward, of undressed or only
partially dressed stone. The second period had begun. There
had been prosperity on the farm. New York was a growing
town. Its increasing population had to be fed and the fertile
fields of Bergen County contributed liberally, as they do yet
and as they have since the earliest settlement. With increas-
ing prosperity came larger and better houses and the fronts of
the larger buildings were made of dressed stone. The main
parts of the houses built then were relatively small and were
evidently made to house moderate families.
The houses of the third period were of dressed stone.
Some of them had two ells, the second one of dressed stone
like the main part of the house. In this period prosperity had
increased to such an extent that the entire house was of dressed
stone, laid up in mortar that is today as hard as the original
rock. Some houses which have been torn down were so solid
36 HISTORIC HOUSES IN BERGEN COUNTY
that they had literally to be cut to pieces. There would have
never been any disintegration. The structures were virtually
imperishable. It is known that in some instances the second
ell was built as a kitchen for the family or a son or daughter
who had married, and that what may be termed the parlors and
sitting rooms of the houses were used in common. That was
sometimes done in England, even as late as fifty years ago and
seems to have been a more or less common practice every-
where in the early days. In other instances the old house
was used as a smoke house, and again for storage.
The low roof, with the curbing and projecting eaves, under
which were hung the corn and herbs to cure, was common
enough all through this section of New Jersey and in New
York state. This was the prevalent Dutch type. Later it
was modified by the introduction of English features, but the
early structures all bear these distinguishing characteristics.
They cannot be mistaken and they remain as memorials of
the industry and prosperity of their builders.
A custom which has been of assistance in compiling
more or less authentic histories of these houses was that of
setting a date stone in the wall of one side of the house
with the date of the erection of the building, together with the
initials of the builder and in some instances those of his entire
family. That occurred in several instances. Again there are
stones set in the walls that are covered with hieroglyphics
which no one has yet been able to decipher. It is barely pos-
sible that these stones were marked by the children of the
family. At any rate this seems a reasonable explanation of
some of the difficulties which have been encountered in trying
to read these stones. They have been ascribed to the rude
markings made by Indians, but unless the stone was found in
that condition, this seems unlikely. The play of children
seems much more plausible. The initials of the builder were
frequently accompanied by some object which represented his
trade. One house has a mill wheel cut on the date stone.
Another has the tools of a mason. A third has the tools of a
builder. They were the owners' trade mark and were in a
sense the advertisement of his business or occupation. Now
HISTORIC HOUSES IN BERGEN COUNTY 37
they are monuments, but that was not their design. It was
merely to show that the owner followed this or that business,
and instead of a sign the emblem was cut in the enduring stone
of which the home was constructed.
These are the main features of the early Dutch homes.
There are many others. For example the arrangement of the
rooms, the furnishings and the construction of the partitions.
But it would scarcely be wise to enter into a more elaborate
description at this time.
It will, perhaps, suffice to mention a few of the more
important of these houses, leaving for the future a more elab-
orate discussion of the interesting architectural features of the
buildings.
One of the oldest houses in the county was the Kipp or CisJL^
DeKype house on the PolHfJj_joad_^near Hackensack. It was . -, \
built about 1690, was of stone, laid in mortar mixed from the
mud of the fields with straw to give it strength. The stones A' *^
were rough, excepting in one end, which apparently represented
changes which were made later. There was a huge fire place
which would take a log at least ten feet long and all the other
characteristics of the Dutch house were present. The builder
of it came from Holland and constructed his home after he
had been in this country about ten years. It was burned less
than a year ago and nothing is left but the walls. Deprived
of their protecting covering they are rapidly falling to ruin.
On Essex street, in Hackensack, stands the Brinkerhoff
house built in 1704. It is now occupied by Mr. J. S. Mabon
and it retains most of the original characteristics. It has
fifteen rooms and is said to be truly representative of the
"old fashioned country seat" which the poet described. This
house saw the retreat of Washington's army from Fort Lee
and there are traditions of the visits of the soldiers of both
armies which may or may not have been true. The initials of
the builder, his wife and his son are cut in one wall and one
or two other stones are covered with a mass of hierogly-
phics which no one has been able to decipher and which some
have thought were made by Indians. It is, however, quite as
plausible that they were cut by children. Such an origin is
58 HISTORIC HOUS ES IN BERGEN COUNTY
not impossible and if one stops to think how often children do
as their elders do they will readily understand how this might
be true.
There are a number of historic houses in and near Hack-
ensack. On Main street stands the Peter Wilson house. It
is of stone, but came later and all the stones are dressed.
Over the windows are cut the names ot Peter Wilson and his
wife. This house really deserves more attention than it has ever
received, for the reason that Peter Wilson, as a force in early
New Jersey history, has never been accorded the position which
is rightfully his. The house might well be visited by those
who are in any way interested in the development with which
Peter Wilson was so closely identified. The educational
prominence of the state was largely due to him in those days
and the early codification of the laws of the state was his
work.
On the Teaneck road stands a stone house which was
probably built about 1685 to 1690. It is likely that the first
date is early, but the erection of this building at about that
time seems well established. It is said to stand just as it was
originally built and it is certainly a picturesque dwelling. It
was erected by Hendrik Brinckerhoff, who came from Holland
around 1670 and was granted a considerable tract of land
along the Teaneck ridge. Upon this tract he erected a dwell-
ing, which stands today just as it stood then. It is a .splendid
specimen of Dutch architecture and it is as typical of the
Dutch style of building houses as any in the county.
On the Paramus road are a number of Dutch dwellings,
all going back as early as 1750 and one or two that are even
earlier than that. At the same time it must be remembered
that there was a period of house building about one hundred
years ago which retained all the characteristics of the older
buildings, but at the same time modified them with English
designs or with designs which were prepared by architects and
builders in this immediate vicinity. They are interesting and
have clustered about them many traditions of the early times.
But they are not as old as those which have been mentioned.
On Union avenue in Rutherford stands the Captain Berry
HISTORIC HOUSES IN BERGEN COUNTY 59
house. It is of stone, but they are all dressed. While it is
known that the house was built early, some think prior to
1690, there is evidence that there have been some remodel-
lings which have changed the character somewhat. It isn't
Dutch like most of the houses farther north, but that was be-
cause Captain Berry was not a Dutchman. He came from
Barbadoes and brought many of his English ideas and tradi-
tions with him. This would naturally show in his house build-
ing and would make it plain why the structure is different from
those which were built by the Dutch.
Only a few typical houses have been mentioned. About
them clusters much of the early history of the county. Near
these buildings the earliest settlements were made, with possi-
bly one exception, and the families which originally occupied
them were important factors in the county's beginnings.
Therefore they deserve prominence. They represent a type
which is disappearing and they should be preserved as land-
marks of the work of the fathers.
OLD FAMILY PAPERS.
A Few Suggestions Read at the Annual Dinner, February
22, 1904.
BY CORNELIUS CHRISTIE.
It has been my pleasure lately to examine some old family
papers that show interesting facts and suggest questions of va-
rious kinds. They also suggest that many other families may
have in their possession similar papers of equal or greater in-
terest and importance.
Nov/ this occasion may be a good opportunity to enforce
upon those present (who in turn may enforce upon others)
the importance of the safe keeping of all old family papers
throwing light upon family history and so upon the history of
the county. For what is the history of the county but the his-
tory of its families ?
V/e are at a disadvantage, however, in starting so late.
How much has already been lost, — probably beyond recovery ;
who can tell ?
An example, possibly only one of many, is the case of the
Brinkerhoff family, which 1 happen to know about, as it was
my mother's family. Hendrick Jorisen Brinkerhoff was the
first member of this family who settled in this County. In
June, 1685, he purchased a tract of land on the east side of the
Hackensack river at a place now known as Ridgefield Park,
but in its early days known as Old Hackensack. Now Hen-
drick Jorisen Brinkerhoff was a man of importance in his day
and generation. Before he came to this County he had been
a member of the Hempstead Assembly of 1665, from Flush-
ing, Long Island, in the State of New York, and a magistrate
there in 1662. 1663 and 1673. His name was also on the
Indian deed of that town. He had also been one of the pur-
chasers from the Indians of the site of Passaic City. After
he came here, he and Albert Zabrouski, the ancestor of the
42 OLD FAMILY PAPERS
Zabriskie family, were commissioned as the first two Justices
of the Peace of this County, and he and his wife are the first
two recorded members of the Old Church on the Green in this
village, of which the Rev. Herman Vanderwart, a member of
this society, is now pastor. At least as much as this of his
public life is known. Now it is also known that he and his
descendants kept his papers of importance in two small chests
or boxes, which were in the possession of the family down to
the time of Jacob A. Brinkerhoff, his great great grandson
and my mother's brother, by whom they were highly prized
and jealously guarded. But after Jacob's death the boxes
with their contents disappeared and so far the most diligent
search has failed to find them.
All this is told simply to show how family papers are
sometimes lost and to warn others against a like loss in the
future.
These lost papers might have shown to us historians
many an interesting fact and might have solved some myster-
ies.
And so of other families. There is the family of Hen-
drick Epke Banta of whom Hendrick Jorisen Brinkerhoff
bought this tract in 1685. There is the family of Albert Za-
brouski, the ancestor of the Zabriskies above referred to. Have
their papers been lost or preserved ?
The Bogert, the Berry, the Blauvelt, the Demarest, the
Doremus, the Westervelt. the Voorhis, the Hopper, the Har-
ing, the Terhune, the Van Home and all the other leading
families of the old times, where are all their papers ? What
stories they might tell us.
Among the old papers that I have seen are some of the
Voorhis family that were found among the papers of the late
Judge Henry H. Voorhis, of which family the Rev. John C.
Voorhis of this Society is a member. These papers are not
numerous. There must be or must have been many others
in the possession of this family. But among them are some
of interest. Among others I find a military commission is-
sued to Henry N. Voorhis, as Sergeant, on May 21, 1811,
signed "Joseph Bloonifield, Governor, Captain-General and
OLD FAMILY PAPERS 43
Commander In Chief of all the Militia and other military
forces in the state of New Jersey." I also find a deed by
Cornelius Haring, Esq.. agent for forfeited estates in this
county, to Henry T. Brinkerhoff of nine acres of land at Tea-
neck, being the lands of Albert Zabriskie forfeited for joining
the army of the King of Great Britain. I also find a bill of
sale April 16, 1805, by Paulus Powelson to Henry Brinkerhoff
of a negro wench for $1C0, duly warranted, of course, as was
usual.
In one of the old deeds of the Edsall title at English
Neighborhood, which I have seen, the southerly line of the
premises described is given as a certain distance south of
Indian Castle. Nov/, on the Brinkerhoff farm at Palisades
Park there is a high hill commanding a wide and a very, fine
view in all directions which has always been known by the
owners of the farm as Castle Hill, and is so called today.
From the location of this hill there can be little doubt that
here was the site of Indian Castle ; or was it the hill itself
that was called a castle ? If a castle what was its character ?
Or was there some legend ? Perhaps the very able Indian
committee will find out for us.
In speaking of the Edsall title we are reminded that
Samuel Edsall, the first of the Bergen county Edsalls, was a
man of more than ordinary importance. Besides being a large
patentee or owner of lands here he v/as officially distinguished.
He was at one time a member of the State Legislature and
was also one of the earliest Justices of the Peace of the
County. His lineal descendants are still living at Palisades
Park and still holding office, one being an ex-mayor of the
borough, one the present Mayor, one a Councilman, and one
Borough Collector, and all of them, like their distinguished
ancestor, important land owners.
From the papers of the Van Horn family I find that the
old Van Horn tract atCloster was bought from a New York
merchant in 1696, and was bought by him in 1686. So we
learn that places so far apart in the County as Old Hacken-
sack and Closter were apparently settled by these old Dutch
families at about the same time, the purchase and settlement
44 OLD FAMILY PAPERS
of the Brinkerhoffs at Old Hackensack, as we have before
stated, being in 1685. In the original Van Horn deed we find
that the old road running through the property is referred to as
the King's Highway, while a road running through Old Hack-
ensack has been known from the earliest Brinkerhoff days and
is still known as the Queen Anne Road.
In all of these various old papers one of the most interest-
ing things is the names of places, of streams, of necks of land,
&c. Take for instance, the name of Old Hackensack where
Ridgefield Park now is. The only name it was ever known
by from the time of Hendrick Jorisen Brinkerhoff down to
about 1870, was Old Hackensack. Why was it thus named?
Was it because when this village, where we are now met, was
first called by the name of Hackensack, the other side of the
Hackensack River, having been previously known as Hacken-
sack, was after that thus distinguished as "Old" ? This seems
not unreasonable. But I find in the public records a deed given
by Hendrick Epke, Hendrick Jorisen and others to Ralph Van-
dalinda, Albert Zabriskie and others, in 1696, that may throw a
little more light on this question. In this deed the grantors,
who were apparently residents of Old Hackensack at that time,
are all described as residents of Hackensack, not of the pre-
cinct of Hackensack, but simply of Hackensack, and this
would seem to strengthen our first suggestion. But there is
another reference in the deed that gives a new idea. At the
end of the description of the tract conveyed, I find this clause :
'•According to an agreement made between Old and New
Hackensack and staked out in the presence of Elias Mickol-
son." From this it would almost appear that the tract con-
veyed was called "New Hackensack," in distinction from the
tract owned by the grantors, which was thereupon called Old
Hackensack. Perhaps an examination of the subsequent
deeds of these grantees might make this clear.
In this deed the neck of land on which Old Hackensack
is situated, and which is generally known as the Teaneck
Ridge is called Hackensack Neck. Our curiosity is also ex-
cited by reference to a great rock lying by the meadow's side
OLD FAMILY PAPERS 45
along the Overpeck Creek. Where is this monument ? It is
probably there still.
The meaning of one name suggests questions as to other
names we have mentioned. What does the name "Overpeck"
mean, as applied to the creek on the easterly boundary of Old
Hackensack and Teaneck? Probably it was of Holland origin
and may have meant the creek over the hill, as it would have
been to the Dutchmen of Old Hackensack. By the English
settlers, from v/hom English Neighborhood was named, it was
called English Creek, and the reason and meaning are plain
enough. But it may have been named for a man of that
name, as it is well known that there are Hollanders living today
not far from here by the name of Overbeck — almost the
same spelling and pronounciation.
There is the name of Teaneck, to which reference has
been made. Teaneck is from the Dutch, meaning "willow
neck," a neck of land where willows grow, as Tenafly is the
Dutch name for the willow marsh or meadow where the In-
dians or the early settlers planted willows for basket making.
As to Tenafly, the overwise modern residents of that place
have imposed upon it the new pronounciation of Tenafly, from
a notion, as I understand, that it is more aristocratic or eu-
phonic than the old way of Te (or Tea)-nafly, thus destroying
the original significance of the name. All such changes seem
to me the foolish perversions of the v/eak-minded or ignorant.
Something like the conduct of the silly girl, so the humorists
put it, who insists that the binding of a book shall match her
complexion of her dress.
As to the name of Closter, which has been mentioned; al-
though believed by some persons to be of Indian origin it is
probably named after a Dutchman, name of Kloster. Some
of the moderns have also tried the same experiment for im-
proving its pronunciation by calling it Clos (Clars)ter, though I
am glad to believe with not as much success. It may be
amusing to repeat the remark of a speaker at the
time of the celebration of the opening of the Northern Rail-
road of New Jersey in the fifties. He said that the only rea-
46 OLD FAMILY PAPERS
son he ever heard for calling the place Closter was that it was
closer to New York than Nyackwas.
The names of the persons we have mentioned interest us.
We find that the Dutchmen in these early papers often dropped
their surnames. So in the deed we have mentioned from
Hendrick Epke, Hendrick Jorisen and others. Hendrick
Epke means Hendrick Epke Banta, and Hendrick Jorisen
means Hendrick Jorisen Brinkerhoff. And we are led to be-
lieve that in some cases where the surname was thus dropped,
it was never afterwards resumed, thus dividing the same
family into two or more different surnames. This is said to
be true of the Westervelt family for one example.
There are other things we might mention and more de-
tails we might go into, but I have said enough to accomplish
all 1 have endeavored to do by this paper, to show how many
things of interest we find or are likely to find in these docu-
ments, that even yet are somewhere in possession of the old
families of the County, and therefore how important it is that
they should be carefully preserved, and there is no way that
this end can be better served than by calling in the aid of this
society through its committees or its members.
HISTORICAL LOAN EXHIBITIONS BY THE JOHN-
SON LIBRARY ASSOCIATION AND THE BER-
GEN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
These exhibitions were all in charge of Mrs. W. H. Wester-
velt of Hackensack. N. J., and were highly interesting and well
attended.
Johnson Library Association Exhibitin the Library Building at
Hackensack, N. J., April 2-16, 1902.
This exhibition v/as given at the suggestion of Hon. W-
M. Johnson with the idea of establishing a Bergen County
Historical Museum in connection with the Library Building.
Through the courtesy of Mrs. Cornelius Blauvelt, President of
the Association and Chairman of the Committee, the following
list of Exhibits is given :
H. L. Bruns— Old China Plate, 100 years.
Miss L. CuMMiNGS— Flint box, very old ; Foreign coin scales, Oct.
1 76 1 ; Portrait of John Huss made of the earth on which he
was burned, and a box made of tree growing on same
spot; New York Evening Post, Sept. 14, 1810; New York
Herald, May 20, 1815; Map of Disputed Territory; Gen-
eral Atlas, 1821.
Mrs. Henry Kipp— Vase, 200 years old; Gup and Saucer, 200
years old ; Bowl, 200 years old ; Decanter, 100 years old;
Brown Pitcher, 80 years old ; Pie Dish, 80 years old ; Cake
Wafer Iron, 150 years old; Small Bowl, 100 years old;
Small Bowl, 80 years old; Pie Filler for Dutch Oven, 200
years old.
Mrs. Ed. DeWitt— Inlaid glass frame brought from Holland over
200 years ago; Picture, Tomb of Washington, 101 years
old ; Tortoise shell comb, 1830; Silk wedding shawl, 1 830 ;
Lace wedding veil, 1830 ; English hand run lace ; -Wedding
Bonnet, ] 830 ; Early Samples of Calico made in this coun-
try ; Very old Brass Candle Sticks ; Hand made glass— be-
fore cut glass was known ; Bead bags.
Mrs. Rachel Blackledge— Old Dutch Bible, 1741 ; Silver Snuff
Box, over 300 years; Dish. 1635; Pewter Plate and Bowl
used by Soldier of Revolution; Sugar Bowl, Milk Pitcher,
48 LOAN EXHIBITIONS
Salt Cellar, 1700; Vase, UJl \ Pitcher, 1777: Velvet
beaded bag, 1 750.
Mrs. Coleman Gray — Set of China Vases, over 300 years old —
belonged to Col. Budd, first settler of L. I., was Surgeon to
King of England.
Mrs. Elsie Brinkerhoff — China Shoe from Holland, 1600; Blue
China Pitcher, 1800.
Rev. E. T. Sanford — Mill Elevator Belt and Buckle — Bolting
Cloth, 1750 ; U. S. Records, Survey and Discovery, 1822.
Mrs. a. D. Bogert — Warming Pan ; Foot Stove.
Rev. E. T. Sanford — Sword and Spurs used in general training,
U. S. Militia.
Miss J. Zabriskie — Copy, Josephus, 1 792 ; Brasero (very old) ; Tea
Caddy, very old ; SnufT Boxes, very old ; Medal, Erie Canal,
1825.
Mr. H. Angell— Powder Horn, used in Revolution; Certificate of
Membership Society of Cincinnati ; signed by George Wash-
ington ; Diaries of Col. Angell during Revolution ; Orders
and Letters of Col. Angell during Revolution ; Insignia of
Society of Cincinnati.
F. A. Westervelt— Homespun linen table cloth; Old bowl ; Shell
Comb ; Copper Kettle from Holland, 200 years; 6 Silver
Spoons; 1 Colonial Spoon, 2 Colonial Spoons; 2 Pewter
spoons, home made in wooden moulds : Hand knit night cap,
75 years : Lace dress cap, 65 years ; Old dress ; Silk Tissue
Dress, 1845; Piece of wedding dress, 102 years old. Bride
a descendant of Gov. William Bradford of the Mayflower:
Piece of wedding dress, 1845; Gold Breastpin, containing
portraits, 50 years old ; Gold Locket, containing portraits,
50 years old.
Mrs. W. O. Labagh— Chair, 1 30 years old ; Book, 1719.
Mrs. R. W. Farr— English Doll, 1 732.
F. A. Westervelt— Large Copper Kettle from Brinkerhoff Home-
stead, Essex St.; Glass Candlesticks, 50 years ; Brass Can-
dlesticks, 75 years.
C. Eugene Walsh— Soldier's Pla':e picked up in street in N. Y. as
71st Regiment passed upon return from Spanish War.
Mrs. DeP. Stagg — Bonnet ; Bowl, 200 years ; Valentine, very old ;
Shell Comb, 1 825 ; 3 SnufT boxes ; Brass Mortar and Pestle.
Rev. E. T. Sanford— Beads from Egypt.
Mrs. J. A. Romeyn— Cameo Bracelet, 100 years ; Dr. Rogers,
miniature; Silver Comb, 100 years ; 2 Silver Pitchers, 100
years; Silver Tea Strainer. 100 years; Silver Sugar Bowl,
100 years.
Mrs. M. H. Angell — Lustre Tea Pot from Forty Fort, Pa., July 3,
LOAN EXHIBITIONS 49
1778, at time of Wyoming Massacre, exhibited at Centen-
nial Exp., Phila., 1876.
Mrs. J A. Romeyn— Shell Comb; Child's Dress, Joanna B.
Romeyn's, 1795; Wedding Dress, Joanna B. Roineyn's,
1807; Silk Shawl. Joanna B. Romeyn's; Silk Kerchief,
Joanna B. Romeyn's ; Child's Silk Coat, over 100 years.
Mrs. M. H. Angell— Insignia, Sonsof Revolution.
Mrs. Chas. Hasbrougk — Cane.
Mrs. Graham — Plate, 100 years.
David Demarest — French Sword.
Mrs. Graham — Holland Shoes.
Mrs. Chas. Hasbrougk — Foot Stove. This stove was the property
of Mrs. Jane Myer. It is at least 100 years old and in early
days part of its duty was to keep its owner comfortable
while she worshipped in the "Old Church on the Green."
Mrs. Graham — Tv/o-lipped Lustre Vase.
Mr. p. E. Moore— Mr. Peter Moore's Watch.
Mrs Sarah Dixon — Glass Lamp, 75 years.
Mrs. David Durie— Corded Hood, 125 years; 2 Shell Combs; Ker-
chief, 125 years old ; Black Silk Shawl.
Mrs Chas. French — Kerchief, 80 years.
F. A. Westervelt— Blue Pitcher, belonged to Major Suffern, Suf-
fern, N. Y.
Mrs. J. C. Ward— Old English Cut Glass Decanter, 1815; Snuff-
ers and Tray, 1 792 ; Lustre Jardiniere, 1815.
Mrs. Zenobia Hanfield— Shell Cameo, date of cutting, 1820;
Handpainted Inlaid Fan. Court of Queen Elizabeth, Artist,
Bertano. 1785 ; Portrait of Mary Rooke Rayner, painted by
Gen. Theo. Cummings
Mrs. Randall — Pitcher, brought from Holland by Hogencamp
family ; Plate, brought from Holland by Hogencamp family ;
Linen, brought from Holland by Hogencamp family.
Garret Randall — Commission Holder was Maj. V/ar 1812.
Mrs Randall— Silver Knife, Fork and Spoon, buried in vicinity of
Fort Lee during Revolutionary War ; Garret Ackerson's
Spectacles, 80 years.
Garret Randall — Sword, worn by Garret Ackerson during War
of 1812 and after as Major General of Militia of Northern;
N.J.
Mrs Nelson Provost— Old Dutch Bible, containingfamily records.
Mrs. H. M. Bogert— Snuffers and Tray, 95 years old ; SiverTable-
spoon, 200 years; Plate, Pembroke Hall, Cambridge ; Plate
100 years.
Mrs. M. E. Smith— Old Roman Lamp.
W. R. Shanks— Old Check, Charles Carroll of Carrolton; Old Check.
50 LOAN EXHIBITIONS
Aaron Burr; Elzevir, 1636; Dutch Bible, 1712; Biblical
Scenes; Illustrations, Frenchmen, 1655; Des. Geo. World,
1680.
Aaron E. Agkerman— Army Blanket, used by A. D. E., War 1812.
Mrs. Aaron E. Agkerman — Lace Mantilla, 100 years.
J. J. Anderson— Sun Dial.
T. H Richards— Silver Shoe Buckles.
F. N. Lawton — Spanish Colors, from San Juan, Porto Rico; Sword
Spanish Officers, captured with above flag.
Mrs. N. B. Zabriskie— Chair, 1685.
Mrs. J. D. Westervelt— Child's Dress.
Mrs. De P. Stagg— Lustre Pitcher, 100 years ; Candle moulds.
Mrs. N. D. Zabriskie— Piece of China, broken by cyclone. Cherry
Hill.
Mrs. Chas. Hasbrougk— 4 Deeds and Indentures; Bulls Eye Watch^
90 years old ; Silver Cup, 126 years, used by Washington,
Books, Wm. Hogarth's Works, 70 years old.
Miss Helen Schuyler Dougherty— Plate, in family for 6 gen-
erations ; Shoe Buckles, 1 50 years, from Island Santa Crus ;
Vase, first Crockery brought from China to U. S.
J. A. RoMEYN— Pieces of China from Complete set, over 100 years.
Mrs. R. W. Farr— Punch Ladle with King George shilling, 1723, in
bottom.
Mrs. De P. Stagg— Bead Bags, 75 years ; 1 Watch Chain, 75
years; Pitch Fork 100 years with natural wood handle ;
Woolen Blanket, 75 years.
Mrs. W. F. Farr— Blue and white blanket.
Mrs. J. D. Westervelt— Knaup, 150 years old, wooden frame to
hold candle to sew or spin by.
Mrs. De P. Stagg— 2 Sets of Brass Andirons, 100 years.
Mrs. J. P. Clarendon— Link buttons worn at the neck, 140 years ;
Silver Spoon, 100 years.
Mr. Henry Hales— Manual of Prayers, Gladstone ; Lord's Prayer
in 200 languages; Illuminated Manuscript, 15th Century;
Status Scolar & Hibernia, 1627; Owen Jones, Grammar of
Ornament ; 2 Lustre Pitchers, 100 years; Silver Candle-
ticks ; Pewter Plates from J. Van Dien, Paramus ; Pewter
Plates from J. Van Dien Paramus.
Mr. Henry Quackenbush— Deed, King George III, 1 774, for tract
of land by the Ponds Church, Franklin Township.
Miss MacRae— Sampler, by Miss Sapira Earl, 100 years.
Miss Annie Berdan— Blue and white spread, 1832.
Mrs. De P. Stagg— Colonial Money.
J. A. Romeyn— Portrait of Joanna B. Romeyn, about 1825, when 5
years of age ; Portrait Rev. James Van Campen Romeyn,
lived in Ontario, preached in Schralenburg and Hackensack.
LOAN EXHIBITIONS 51
1799 to 1833; Manuscript Sermons, Rev. Jas. A. Romeyn,
Pastor Old Church on Green, 183 3-36; Revolutionary
Pistol ; Gold Necklace, 1 00 years ; Old Book belonged to T.
H. Romeyn ; Manuscript Lectures of Theology by R. J. V. C.
Romeyn.
Mrs. R. G. Paul.--3 Old English Prints from the Collection of the
Marchioness of Aylesbury ; Old Carvings found in old Church
in Kendal, Westmoreland, 300 years old.
Mrs. J. P. Clarendon — Satin Dress worn in 1841 ; Blue and white
blanket, 1839.
F. A. Westervelt— Double Canton China Plate, belonged to Mayor
Suffern of Revolutionary Army.
Mrs. De P. Stagg — Blue Platter ; Tea Pot and stand, Moses in
the BuUrushes ; Cup and Saucer, Moses in the Bullrushes ;
Cake Plate, Moses in the Bullrushes ; Lustre Plate ; Small
Blue Plate ; Silver Table Spoons, over 200 years ; Silver
Table Spoons gotten from British during the Revolution.
Mrs. Alva Trowbridge— Letter, Benjamin Franklin ; Letter, Gen,
Nathanial Greene; Umbrella, over 100 years ; Scarf worn
by Gen. Greene during Revolution ; Beautiful Emb. Waist
Coat, worn by Gen. Greene during Revolution.
Mrs. Chas. Hasbrouck— Sand Box, 1 12 years; Office Chair with
writing table attached, 102 years old, used by Rob Campbell
who was born inl 766, Attorney in 1790, died 1846. He gave
to!Hackensack the ground son which the Court buildings now
stand. It is said he was the orator of Bergen Co. on all
patriotic occasions
A. V. Moore— Chair 150 years.
F. A. WESTERVELT--01d model of full equipped Holland vessel.
Mrs. Cha5. Hasbrouck— 4 Cups and Saucers, 1 12 years.
Mrs. R. M. Hart— Large Sheffield Tray, 1730 ; Sheffield Candle-
sticks, 1825 ; Pewter Sugar Bowl and Spoon, 1800 ; Indian
Drinking Cup, Moccasins belonged to Sitting Bull, The
Gorget won by Aaron Hart, 1759 ; China "Davenport" ; 3
pieces of Blue China Indian festoon.
Mrs. M. W. Smith— Passes allowing bearer to pass through lines
to Hackensack during Revolution, one given in Orange
county signed by Elihu Marvin, one of the judges of Orange
County Court, the other issued in Hackensack Nov. 14, 1778,
to allow return.
Mr. Willard Cass, of Englewood Collection— Powder flask, from
Fort Lee during Revolution ; Hessian Bayonet from Fort Lee,
Lock and key from Andre Prison at Tappan; Rifle Balls,
found at Fort Lee ; Exploded Shell found at Fort Lee ; Eng-
lish Sword found at Fort Lee ; Indian Axe Head found at
Liberty Pole at Englewood ; 3 Indian Arrow Heads ; Piece of
52 LOAN EXHIBITIONS
Frigate Constitution; Block of Continental Money ; separ-
ate portions are numerous, blocks are rare; Indian Corn
Pestles, picked up at Teaneck.
R. H. D. Demarest— Lustre Pitcher, over 100 years.
Mrs. Coleman Gray— Large Sheffield Tray, over 200 years ;
Buckle worn on General Abram Godwin's shoe; Silver
Coaster, belonged to Colonel Budd, over 200 years ; Silver
Cake Basket, over 200 years ; Miniature, Mr. Coleman's gift
to bride ; Silver Ladle presented to Mr. Coleman by Colonel
Budd; Portrait, Mr. Coleman, first proprietor N. Y. Evening
Post.
Mrs. Blagkledge— Cane, Dr. Chapman's, 500 years Molasses
Cup from Holland, 200 years.
Miss RiPPHER — Sampler, made 1795.
Mrs. Blagkledge— 2 Bowls, 200 years; 1 Blue Bowl, 200 years.
Mrs. Elsie Brimkerhoff— Silver tongs and spoons, over 100
years; Brown Dish, over 100 years.
Mrs. Blagkledge— Blue Bowl, 1785; Lafayette & Washington
Plate, 100 years; Wedding Shawl, 140 years; wedding
dress 140 years; Wedding Dress, daughter's, 120 years;
2 Blue and white blankets, 100 years.
Mrs. Mary Kent — Bread Bowl made from Knot of Wood by In-
dians, given to a Mrs. Sneden of Sneden's Landing 125
years ago by somie Quakers for rowing them across the
Hudson River.
R. M. Hart— Carved Ivory Fan, Chinese, 1720.
C. E. Wilde— Collection of Copper Coins, from 1 793-1852. Was
30 years in collecting.
C. E. Wild— Large Collection of Minerals, shells and curios (Left
at Library).
Mrs. De P. Stagg — Old Compass ; Very interesting picture of the
Battery, N. Y., in 1820.
Mrs. Joshua Clark — Old Shoes ; Old Writing Desk.
Florence A. St. John— Collection of 21 Dolls from manj countries,
dressed as the natives dress, Moki, India, Switzerland, Italy,
Algiers, etc.
Dr. C. F. Adams — Japanese Sword Scabbard. 'made of an elephant's
tusk, beautifully carved; Persian mace; Philippine Kris,
native hand forged.
Mrs. a. Lizzie Campbell — Case of Wampum and Indian ornaments,
manufactured by Campbell Bros., Pascack, Bergen Co.,
the only known factory of the kind in the world.
Dr. C. A. Hayden— Soldier's Outfit used in War 1812.
E. K. Bird— Almanacs, 1785.
F. A. Jacobson— Burlington Almanac, 1791.
E. K. Bird— Hackensack Star and Be.'-gen Farmer, 1824.
LOAN EXHIBITIONS 53
Mrs. C. Linkron— Light and Dark Blue Blanket.
Mrs a. E. Ackerman— Gun, 1812; Fire Tongs.
John Ryan— "Great Feast at Hoboken," (advertisement) -'71 An-
niversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill, June 17, 1846, a
splendid Ox roasted whole, 1 00 lbs. of Turtle made in soup
for ladies."
Hon. W. M. Johnson -Old Deeds, 1686. 1695, 1651.
A. W. Van Winkle— Old Letter, 1 74 1 .
Mrs. Breakenridge— Old Bowl, 100 years.
Mrs C. F. Adams— Proposal of Marriage. 1811.
Mrs. a. E. Ackerman- Pewter Candlesticks.
H. R. Berry— Copy Will of Sam. Berry, 1767.
Henry Hales— Copy Constitution.
Mrs. H. M. Bogert— Lantern.
Clyde B. Hay— Flax and Linen raised on Bogert Farm ; New
York in 1 778 ; 3 Bank Notes, 1 795 ; Arrow Heads Found in
Bogota.
Miss Van BusKiRK--Silk Shawl, over 100 years old.
Rev. E. T. Sanford— Iron Toaster for Open Fireplace ; Iron Candle
Holder made in Washington's Army.
Mrs. a. E. Van Benschouten— Picture of Old Mill. This old mill
stood in Green St.. Jersey City, about where the P. R. R.
now crosses that street, which is at present one block from
the river. It was built by Isaac Edge in the early part of
the last century. Painted by Eliza Van Benschouten Taylor
in 1845.
Mrs. Louis Wygant— Picture, 104 years.
Arthur Van Buskirk— Indian Battle Axe, found on Family Home-
stead, New Milford.
W. L. Williams— First copy N. Y. Sun, 1833.
J. D. Westervelt— New York Picayune, 1850; Bergen Co. Ga-
zette, Sept. 2, 1857, Vol. 1 , No. 1.
Mrs. W. Archer— Pair Silver Candlesticks, used by Peter Wilson ;
Pair China Vases, used by Peter Wilson.
Mrs. T. Palmer— Tankard, Pewter, belonged to one of the early
Zabriskies.
E. Ainley — 2 Horse shoes, taken from LaFayette's horse, which
died at Lafayette's headquarters at Tappan ; Latch taken
from the door of the house in which Andre was imprisoned at
Tappan; a metal figure that ornamented a transom over one
of the doors in the old 76 House at Tappan.
Mrs. Annie Kempton — Collection Bank Notes.
Mrs. Cleveland — Confederate Money.
Miss Norah Bogert— Natural History Collection.
W. I. CoNKLiN— Picture members New Jersey Senate, 1859, Pres.
Thomas H. Herring of Bergen Co.
54 LOAN EXHIBITIONS
W. J. Andrus— Collection Pottery, largest of its kind from New
Mexico; Navajo Jewelry made bythem from Mexican Money;
Arrow Heads, Blankets, Beads and Baskets.
Henry Hales — Valuable collection of New Mexico Pottery.
Mr. Van Gottschalk — Valuable Indian Collection.
James L. Watt, M. D. — Siwash Indian Articles collected at Circle
City, Alaska.
VALUE
NO. IN Alaska
1. A Moose skin coat, tanned by squaws with sourdough $75 00
2. Coat for a child 10 00
3. Coat of reindeer skin trimmed with white fox and
walrus head buttons 12 00
4. Beaded and fur trimmed gloves, used in summer
against mosquitoes 8 00
5. Beaded and fur trimmed mits for winter use 15 00
6. Moccasins for general use 4 50
7. Walrus skin water boots trimmed with reindeer and
hair seal. When properly oiled, will not leak 15 00
8. Moccasins 4 50
9. Moccasins for child 2 00
10. Pappoose strap used to fasten the baby to its mother's
back 4 00
11. This rude knife, is made from an old file, and is
used in making canoes, snowshoes, sleighs and all
kinds of wood work 1 50
12. Hunting knife made from a file 2 00
13. Child's toy made of Sabletail 2 00
14. Child's water boots 5 00
15. Cartridge pouch 5 00
16. Leggings and garters 17 00
17. Game bag 15 00
18. Gold dust bag 1 50
19. Tobacco pouch 4 00
20. Hank sewing thread made of moose tendons 50
21. Canoe, paddle and doll 5 00
22. Snow shoes 6 00
23. Child's wooden dish
24. Pot latch spoon. Christmas time is the great pot
latch season lasting about a week. The merriment
consists of eating and dancing. Open house is kept
where the tribe gathers and the feast consists of
boiled meat, hardtack or pan cakes. This spoon
holds one portion of the stew which is served from
the pot
25. Model of a pack sled
LOAN EXHIBITIONS 55
26. Model of a dog- sled
27. A case of arrows. A full set consists of twenty ar-
rows. The blunt arrows are used for fur bearing-
animals that the skin may not be perforated . ii^harp
arrows can be sent through a moose at fifty yards.
These arrows were used as late as 1 885, when guns
became common
Mrs. W. 0. Labagh— Manuscript reports of Army Headquarters
during American Revolution in N. Y. City, June 27, August
18, 1776, references to Generas Greenel, Putnam and
other Officers and Privates of the American Army ; Grand
Mount at Lispenard Brewery mentioned ; Court Martials,
&c., punishment of 30 lashes, 1 for 3 days consecutively;
Execution of Thomas Hickley, June 28, for mutiny, sedition
and treachery.
In the museum at Johnson Library is the very valuable collection
of 69 pieces, containing illuminated books of great value, curios,
etc., of Mr. Ireneaus Prime Stevenson.
First Exhibition of the Bergen County Historical Society, Given
at the Johnson Library Building, April 9, 16, 23, 30, 1904.
r W. D. SNOW,
Committee I
(rev. e. t. sanford.
This Exhibition included many articles exhibited by the
Library Association, and these, with the newly loaned articles,
made a striking collection.
LIST OF EXHIBITS.
Mrs. G. W. Hill— 1 Pennant from Battle Ship New York. 1 Con-
federate $10.00 Bill, Feb. 17. 1864; 1 R. R. ticket, N. Y.
Central, 1 835, Oct. first E. R. R. ticket sold May 1 7, No. 0,
18 years ago.
F. A. Westervelt— Old Lock and Key, from door of New York City
Jail.
Judge The. Sanford, Belleville, N. J— Picture of Geo. II.
Abram De Baun— Dutch Bible.
T. H. Richards— Indian Treaty, Sioux Indians and U. S. Govern-
ment.
Rev. E. T. Sanford— An Egyptian Mummy, called Thotasu, pur-
chased by Rev. E. T. Sanford at Thebes, Egypt, 1903, sup-
posed to be 3,000 years old.
56 LOAN EXHIBITIONS
Clarence Washburn— Leather Fire Bucket, Washington's picture
on it, date 1800, Motto, For God and Our Country ; name E.
Bourne.
Mrs. John Van Bussum— Portrait of Dr. Rogers ; Picture, City
Aberdeen, Scotland, birthplace of Prof. Peter Wilson; Pic-
ture Aberdeen University where Prof. Peter Wilson gradu-
ated ; Shaving Glass, Prof. Peter Wilson's.
H. D. SoHNKER— Indian Axe Head, Corn Grinders, Pipe, Clay,
very old ; 45 Arrow Heads, Flint, &;c. All found on Teaneck
Ridge.
B. H. Allbee— Photograph, Old Yates Mill, Westwood, 1680-
1590.
Mrs. W. Nichols — Bound copy of the Balance, published in Hud-
son, N. Y., 1802, contains death notice of Martha Washing-
ton.
VooRHis Demare3t— 4 bullets picked up on Seven Pines Battlefield
after Civil War. Belt Buckle, S. N. Y. picked up on same
field.
F. G. Speck — Very valuable collection of modern and ancient
Mohegan, Indian implements and relics. Brooch used in
ceremony of adoption by Mohegans, wampum of primitive
make also used in adoption ceremony; Insignia of member of
tribe, loaned by a member of the Mohegan tribe by adoption.
F. G. Speck— Fragments of Indian pottery found by Clifford Storey
and F. G. Speck in a spot north of Hackensack where once
there had been an Indian village.
Mrs. Green — Pewter Candlesticks.
Mrs. C. D. Haring— Blue Quilt.
F. A. Westervelt— Blue Quilt.
A. W. Van Winkle— Deed on Vellum, 1707, property at Rutherford
1 10 acres and meadow land.
Mrs. E. S. Clapp— Very old Masonic Apron; very old bead work.
Miss Norah Bogert— Brass Candlesticks; water color picture of
Fireplace in old Brinkerhoff Homestead, Essex street.
Mrs. W. E. Harris— Dresden cup, saucer, plate, formerly the
property of the late Sir Julian Pauncefote. China mug, 150
years.
Helen A. Gouge — Revolutionary sword carried by Sergeant A.
Cleveland.
Matilda P. Clark— Dutch Bible, 1778.
Mrs. C. E. LoPER—China Pitcher, 125 years.
Mrs. Rose— Large pewter platter, 1807.
Henry Bunger— Tin box for papers. Wooden box for money, car-
ried by Casparius Westervelt through Revolutionary War.
Old Hymnal, 1814.
LOAN EXHIBITIONS 57
Miss Allaire— Oil Painting, Fort Lee 1838; Oil Painting Baron
Steuben House. 1752, at New Bridge.
Clyde Hay— Spanish War Mauser cartridge; Flax grown on
Bogert farm; Sword and scabbard, powder horn.
Mrs. H. S. Waldron— Doll, 100 years.
S. D. Bedell— Picture, The Destiny of America, New York Her-
ald, April 14, 1865.
Mr. Poe— 1 1 Photographs, Hackensack Viev/s
F. A. Westervelt— Old Fort Stove.
J. C. Blauvelt— 1 Railroad Pass, Hackensack, N. Y. R. R. when
the road was only 5 miles long; 2 tickets, 1862-1864; 1
Blue and White Chintz Quilt, 1 00 years.
Miss J. M, Culbertson— Water color Picture, Old Vanderbeck
Homestead, Main street.
Miss R. McQuoid— Pitcher, choice piece of Black Basaltes ware.
Mrs. B. Rice— Collection of paper money.
Clyde Hay— Book, Regulations for Soldiers, 1800; Map N. Y.
City, 1 778 ; Confederate money, $500 ; U. S. ten cent bill ;
Lombard Bank note.
George Bristol— Receipt for a Stove, 1818.
Mrs. W. O. Labagh— Red and White Linen Quilt, homespun.
Mr. Paul Brinkerhoff— Presented to the Society, 1 Mail and Ex-
press souvenir of the Centennial Celebration of Washing-
ton's inaugaration, April 20-50, 1889; 1 fine Arrow Head
from Norwood, N. J.
Exhibition at Ridgewood, Bergen County, N. J., June 26, 1905
This Exhibition was given by the president of the Bergen
County Historical Society, Cornelius Doremus, under the auspices
of the Society.
LIST OF EXHIBITS.
Mrs. Emma Keeley — 1 lustre coffee pot; 1 silver sugar tongs; 1
china plate; 1 china cup and saucer; 1 cake plate; 1
Spencer waist ; 2 lace caps ; 1 shirt, linen.
Mrs. James Keeley — 4 Samplers; 3 daguerrotypes ; 1 almanac :
2 pieces Continental money ; 1 seal ; 1 copy of will of Mary
Washington; 1 silver watch: 1 pair silver specks; 3 silver
spoons ; 2 china plates ; 1 china saucer; 1 foot stove; 1
china vase ; 1 glass plate; 1 hymnal.
C. Z. Board— 1 pair duelling pistols; I Dutch Bible; 1 ready
58 LOAN EXHIBITIONS '
reckoner ; 1 Hibernian Magazine ; 1 silver snuff box ; 1
silver watch ; 4 swords ; 1 tavern sign, 1802— J. A. Hopper
Hoppertnwn, now Hohokus.
Dr. Van Emburg— 1 wooden cradle, 1743 ; 1 gravy boat and stand,
1736; knife, fork and candle stick; 1 set artificial teeth,
1846; 1 set artificial teeth, 1790; portrait, water color.
1770; 1 plate, china, 1781; 1 chair, 1805; 1 pitcher; 1
pitcher, silver lustre ; 1 pitcher, silver lustre ; 1 quilt, patch
work ; 1 quilt, patch work.
Mrs. a. J. Zabriskie— 1 lustre pitcher.
Thomas C. Moore — 1 parchment deed, 1774.
Mrs. S. a. Ryerson— 1 blue sugar bowl ; 1 decanter, glass.
Mrs. a. J. Van Winkle— 1 pewter tea pot ; 1 pewter sugar bowl ;
1 pewter milk pitcher. Descended to Mr. Van Winkle from
the Dayton family, the first settlers of Ridgewood.
Mrs. W. J. Valentine— Collection old laces; Japanned tray, 150
years old ; petticoat.
Miss Egbert and Mrs. Babcogk— 1 Canton china bowl, 100 years ;
1 bound magazine, Batavia Legation, 1668; 1 old print—
cor. Market and Main streets, Paterson, N. J., 1835, shows
Congress Hall, Paterson and Hudson River R. R. and Old St.
Paul's Church; 1 old book, 1641; 1 brass candlestick, 100
years; 2 Indian Moccasins; 1 Proclamation by Andrew
Jackson, Pres. U. S.; 2 Masonic Aprons worn by the first
Doctor of Paterson, who has been dead 80 years; 1 cup and
saucer, 100 years old; monogram A. M. Z. (English) ; 2 sil-
ver and rhine stone buckles^ for shoes; 1 bead bag, 100
years ; 1 Staffordshire blue fruit dish and stand, willow de-
sign; 1 almanac, 1800; 2 old newspapers; 3 tiles from Old
Mansion house, 100 years.
Mrs. Herman Terhune— 1 china tea pot, 90 years ; 1 china
pitcher, 80 years ; 1 silver watch, 117 years ; 1 blue and
white spread.
Mr. Koman— Dutch Bible, 1686.
Mrs. C. A. Hopper— 1 spinning wheel, 150 years ; 1 chair, 200
years ; 1 chair, 200 years.
Mrs. T. N. Glover — 1 sugar bowl ; 1 warming pan ; 1 copper
kettle ; 1 bead bag ; 1 pewter sugar bowl ; 1 pewter pitcher ;
collection of laces and linens.
Mrs. R. L. Ottis— 3 silver spoons, 100 years old : 1 lustre
pitcher, 75 years old ; 1 china plate, 130 years old ; 1 lustre
cup and saucer, 100 years old ; one plate, cup and saucer,
70 years old ; 2 small candle sticks carried through Civil
War ; 1 bowl and saucer ; 1 china tea pot ; 1 platter, 120
years old.
Mrs. I. E. Hutton— 1 china cradle, 150 years old ; 1 lustre
LOAN EXHIBITIONS 59
pitcher, 69 years ; 1 bead purse, 75 years old ; 1 bead bag,
75 years old ; one cup and saucer, 80 years old ; 1 bowl and
plate, 89 years old ; 1 bead chain, 75 years old.
Mrs. Whitman Phillips— 1 foot stove, 200 years old ; 1 John
Wesley Men:iorial Pitcher, b. Jan. 1766. d. 1791 ; 1 Rose
Lustre Pitchar, 150 years ; 1 blue pitcher, 73 years ; 1 cop-
per lustre pitcher, 150 years; blue pitcher, 150 years; 1
"Old Farmer's" jug, 70 years ; 1 blue pitcher, 70 years ; 1
old pitcher, 150 years • 1 copper lustre pitcher, 150 years ;
1 rose lustre, 150 years; 1 copper lustre, 75 years; 1 cop-
per lustre teapot, 150 years ; 1 silverlustre sugar bowl, 150
years; 1 silver lustre milk pitcher, S50 years; two brass
candle sticks, 200 years ; 1 brass snuffer ; 1 brass tray ; 1
silver snuffer; 1 silver tray; 2 Sheffield candle
sticks; 1 Indian knife case; 1 Indian war bon-
net; 1 string wampum; 1 bead purse, 175 years;
1 Indian file case; 1 Indian bead necklace; 1 Wedge-
wood pitcher ; 150 years ; 1 Staffordshire fruit dish and
plate; 1 old masonic jug; 1 silhouette; 1 print of Old
Tomb's, N. Y. ; 1 Sheffield tray, 100 years ; 1 Elegy on the
death of Jas. Lawrence, Commander U.S. Frigate Chesa-
peake, 1843 ; 1 old Bible, 1640 ; 1 copy Josephus, 1792 ; 1
blue and white spread, 176 years; 1 blue and white spread,
150 years; 1 Chippendale chair, 150 years; 1 chair used by
E. R. Roe, 100 years; 1 chair, 150 years; 1 oil painting by
Mrs. Whitman Phillips, scene at Weehaken, 1836; 1 oil
painting by Mrs. Whitman Phillips, scene Harlem Bridge,
1836. As much more as above not listed.
Mrs. Chas. E. Griffen—1 shawl, Scotch Paisley ; 1 shawl, India;
1 shawl, Japan silk, embroidered; 1 Arabic dagger; 1
handkerchief, hand embroidery; 1 handkerchief, hand em-
broidery; 1 handkerchief, hand embroidery ; 1 pair Arabian
slippers; 1 breast pin, opals and brilliants, 200 years old; 1
pair earrings, opals and brilliants ; 2 silver dress holders ; 1
chatelaine; 1 thimble; 1 bog wood bracelet; collection
(large) of beautiful jewelry.
Mrs. H. H. Devore— 1 toy bed curtains, valance, &,c., 115 years
old ; 4 pieces of Con. money; 1 glasstumbler, 126 years old ;
1 salad bowl, 150 years old ; 1 spinning wheel; 1 toy chair,
125 years old ; 1 foot stove, 150 years old ; 1 foot stove, 150
years old; 1 deed, 103 years old; 1 almanac and diary,
1764 ; 1 pair of brass andirons; 1 tongs.
Alfred Owen— 1 file of New Port Mercury, 1800.
Miss Carrie Hopper and Miss Berdan— 1 blue cup and saucer
presented to Mrs. Berdan by a grand d. of Henry Clay, 1 Co-
lonial spoon.
60 LOAN EXHIBITIONS
F. J. Walton— Collection of 10 relics of Fort Washington.
Mrs. R. A. Westervelt—1 table purchased from Gan. Washing-
ton while he was encamped near Ramsay by Jonas Hal-
stead ; 1 Dutch Bible, 1 722, brought from Holland by ances-
tors of Mrs. F. A. Ryerson; 1 hand made iron pot and cover,
75 or 80 years old ; 1 hand embroidered dress, 75 years old.
Edward Costa— 1 Spanish coin. 1756.
Miss H. L. West— 1 brass candle stick, 210 years old; 1 book,
Pope's work, 110 years old; 1 pair embroidered suspenders,
75 years old; 1 bead bag, 100 years old; 1 steel bag. 100
years old; I silver spectacle case, 150 years old; 1 sample
of home made linen bed curtain, 210 years old.
Rev. M. Van Neste— 3 pieces of money, Rahway script, 1837,
Cont., 1776, Con., 1777; 1 copy Trenton Gazette, 1782; 1
copy Trenton Mercury, 1787.
Mr. C.J. Gaylor — 1 silver sugar tongs, 1809; 1 silver sugar
cremer; 1 silver tankard, 1796; 1 Family letter, 1689; 1
commission to David Skaats, 1812, by James Madison; 1
pitcher; 1 embroidery; 1 silhouette of Peter Burt, maternal
G. Father of C. J. Gaylor, 5 generations back was an in-
ventor of a deep seadredge still in use in the British Service,
known to have reproved William IV for profanity ; 1 old dic-
tionary, 125 years old.
Mrs. A. Terhune — 1 silver ladle, 80 years old; 1 china sugar
bowl. 80 years old; 1 plate, 75 years old; 1 teaspoon, 110
jearsold; 1 small pitcher, 80 years old; 1 plate, 75 years
old; 1 piece embroidery, 48 years old; 1 tureen, 80 years
old, 2 hymnals, 100 years, 63 years; 1 spread blue and
white, 65 years old.
J. H. Van Emburg, Midland Park — 1 book, 1695; 1 platter; 2
plates; an original piece of the Confederate flag of Gen.
Price. When the army was disbanded the flag was torn up
and distributed among the troops, 1861-1865; 1 circular de-
scribing property stolen from Continental army, Albany, Nov.
12, 1702 ; 1 commission of Epenetus Smith, appointed Lieut,
of the 7th Reg. of N. Y., George Clinton Governor, 1803; 1
auto letter. Gen. Mifflin and Col. Hugh Hughes, Phil., Pa.,
May 19, 1776; 3 Indian Paint pots; 1 shot pouch, 100
years; 1 safety ink bottle, 102 years; 1 spect. frame; 1 ink
bottle, 1768 ; 1 stone pitcher once Timothy Crane's, of Pas-
saic; 1 old book, 1689.
Henry Hales — 1 pewter plate ; 1 pewter dish ; 1 oil painting,
game, very old ; 1 large coUection arrow heads; 2 Lustre
ware, two jugs; 1 Lustre ware, one mug; 1 Lustre ware
creamer; 1 foot stove; 1 cannon ball, Fort Washington; 1
collection buttons worn in Revolutionary war; 1 tile from
LOAN EXHIBITIONS 61
Anderson house in Hackensack ; 1 tile from Rosecrantz house
(Aaron Burr house), Hohokus ; 1 tin lantern
W. D. RosENGRANTZ, HoHOKUS — 2 Script, tiles from fire place at the
Hermitage house of Madame Provost (married Aaron Burr),
about 200 years old; 1 appointment Elijah Rosegrant as
Surgeon, 1803; 1 appointment as Clergyman D. Ref.
Church, 1794; 1 appointment as Pnysician, 1799; 1 com-
mission as Surgeon mate 2d Reg. Bergen County Militia,
1803 ; 1 pair of flintlock pistols, over 100 years; 1 bell muz-
zle flintlock pistol.
Mrs. C. A. Hopper— 5 silver tablespoons made from Abram
Biauvelt's pension money (silver coin) from Revolutionary
war.
Mr Peter 0. Terhune— 6 old books; 1 deed; 1 business card; 1
frame; 1 canteen, French and English war: 1 platter; 1 soup
plate; 1 bowl; 1 cov. bullion cup and saucer; 1 wooden
spoonholder, 1766.
Mrs. Irving Bogert — 2 plates ; 1 sugar bowl ; 4 embroidered
caps.
Mrs. Sheridan Keeley — 1 large Sheffield tray ; 1 sword cane; 1
bayonet ; 1 Indian spear head, plowed up on farm of James
Keeley at Paramus.
Mrs. H S. Vincent— 1 bunch waist buttons made fro.m Spanish
00115,1775; I silver tongs, 150 years ; I pair shoe buckles.
150 years; 1 pair knee buckles, 150 years; 1 inlaid tea
caddy, 200 years.
Mr. R. M. Bridgeman, P. Master— 1 cer. of first appointment of
Postmaster of Ridgewood to Ben F. Robinson, March, 30,
1865.
Mr. George Corsa— 1 sword. Gen. Grant's ; 1 cane and 1 silk
sash, Gen. Grant's; 1 scabbard. Gen. Badeau; 2 epaulettes;
2 boot hooks; 1 picture print, The Infant Academy, Sir
Joshua Reynolds ; 1 picture print, Edward V meeting
Duke of York, pub. 1789; 1 picture print. Prince Edward,
pub. 1789; 9 Klondyke pictures; 2 Masterdon teeth found
40 ft underground; 2 masterdon vertebra; 1 tile from
Roman Bath, over 1500 years old; 1 Klondyke gold dust
sack; 2 natural curio shells, enclosed in a shell of stone
found on Corsa Terrace, Ridgewood Heights; 1 burnt en-
velope found in wreck of 20th Century trunk, June, 1905;
1 Egyptian lamp; 1 book over 200 years; 1 silver creamer
with coin in bottom dated 1 709.
Miss Anna Hood— 2 silhouettes, 1823; 1 fan, 1850; 1 Bible
1767 ;2 spoons, 179S ; 1 Dutch doll, 1853 ; 1 sampler, 1839
Miss Jane Griffen — 1 shell bracelet ; 2 Swiss dolls.
Mr. Geo. H. Stevens— 1 bear trap, 1751, Mass; 1 mortar in use
62 LOAN EXHIBITIONS
when Washington was President; 1 despatch pouch was
worn by Lieu. Wiswell at battle of Bennington, also expedi-
tion against Ticonderoga, 1758 ; 1 skillete, 1835;! bel-
lows, 1 broiler, 1787.
Jas. R. Eschlman— 1 col. 100 Indian relics, arrow heads, axes, 2
celtes, 1 pestle, spears, &c., collected in vicinity of Ridge-
wood.
F. A. Westervelt, Hack —8 silver spoons, very old; I gold
breast pin, very old ; 1 gold locket, very old; 1 silk tissue
dress, 1845 ; I home made linen shirt, 80 years old; 2 glass
candlesticks; 2 pewter candlesticks; 1 pewter creamer; 1
pewter sugar bowl ; 2 pewter spoons, home made ; 1 copper
kettle, 200 years; 1 shell comb; 1 shell comb basket; 1 old
bonnet: 1 old apron; 1 silver wedding press, 1800; 1 foot
stove; 3 lace caps; 1 large homespun white spread; 1
large homespun blue and white spread; 1 copy coat of arms,
Westervelt; 1 picture, Mayflower; 8 papers of Lincoln's
death.
J. B. Van Geison— 1 record of sale of slave witnessed by A. 0.
Zabriskie, 1842.
Arthur Van B'JSKirk, Hack.— L Indian axe head found on home-
stead at New Milford, N. J.
Miss Maggie Vreeland— 1 lady's hand embroidery dress very
beautiful, 80 years; 1 brass candlestick; 1 snuffer; 1 tray.
Mrs. Mary Bogert— 1 child's dress, 60 years.
Mrs. E. C. Blauvelt, Hack.— 1 blue and white chintz spread,
over 100 years.
Mrs C. E. Humphrey, Hack. — 1 blue and white spread.
Mrs. J. D. Westervelt— 1 knaup.
Mrs. B. A. Albee, Hack.— 1 pewter plate; 1 wooden plate; 1
pewter mug; I muggier; 1 silhouette.
Mr. Ely, Hack.— 1 Rev. gun; 6 pieces Colonial money; 1 old
book.
R. H. Wortendyke — 3 charts containing valuable legal docu-
ments, deeds, bonds, &c., 104 to 106 years; 1 frame con-
taining deed ; 1 frame containing "call to organize High
School in Ridgewood and vicinity, Isaac Wortendyke, 1887."
Mr. Cornelius Doremus — 1 large collection valuable documents.
Miss Florence A. St. John, Hack.— 1 collection of 21 dolls of
all nations.
C. Eugene Walsh, Hack.— 1 soldier's plate, tin, picked up in N.
Y. after the 71st Reg. passed when they returned from
Spanish War.
Mrs. C. W. Banta— 1 Indian axe; 1 china platter, willow design.
Miss DoBBS— 1 sausage gun ; 2 samplers.
LOAN EXHIBITIONS ^^
Mrs. J. Christopher— 1 large handsomely carved bellows, 80
years.
Mrs. Rebecca Hawes— 2 deeds and letters of Aaron Burr.
N. A. Westervelt,
Hackensack, in charge.
Papers and' Proceedings
The Bergen County HistGrical Society
906-1907
NUMBER THREE
Secretary's Report, 1906-1907. . . .Byron G. Van Horn«
Historiographer's Report, 1906. , .T, N. Glover
Geneological Committee's Report, ! 906,
Mrs. F. A. Westervch
Frank G. Speck
ClifTord M. Story
Old-time Bergen County Doctors. . . . Byron G. Van Home
First Lutheran Church in Bergen Coxxntf , .Eugene K. Bird
Demolition of Private Cemeteries . . . , . Everett L. Zabriskle
New Bridge . . ■ Francis C. Koehkr
The Bar of Bergen Count>' .Cornelius Doremua
Indian Life in Bergen County .....
ENGLEWOOD PRES,9
Papers and Proceedings
OF
The Bergen County Historical Society
1906-1907
NUMBER THREE
Secretary's Report, 1906-1907. . . .Byron G. Van Home
Historiographer's Report, 1906 T. N. Glover
Geneological Committee's Report, 1906,
Mrs. F. A. Westervelt
Indian Life in Bergen County J ' ^^^
{ Clifford M. Story
Old-time Bergen County Doctors .... Byron G. Van Home
First Lutheran Church in Bergen County . . Eugene K. Bird
Demolition of Private Cemeteries Everett L. Zabriskie
New Bridge Francis C. Koehler
The Bar of Bergen County Cornelius Doremus
01f&
1^-
OFFICERS.
1906-1907.
President — Burton H. Allbee, Hackensack, N. J.
Vice-Presidents — Isaac D. Bogert, Westwood, N.
J. ; W. M. Johnson, Hackensack, N. J. ; Edward Stagg,
Leonia, N. J.; Henry D. Winton, Hackensack, N. J.;
William D. Snow, Hackensack, N. J., Abram DeBaun,
Hackensack, N. J.
Recording Secretary — Dr. Byron G. Van Home,
Englewood, N. J.
Corresponding Secretary — Arthur Van Burkirk,
Hackensack, N. J.
Treasurer — Wilham O. Labagh, Hackensack, N. J.
The officers and the following compose the Executive
Committee — T. N. Glover, Rutherford, N. J. ; E. K. Bird.
Hackensack, N. J. ; Cornelius Doremus, Ridgewood, N. J. ;
Andrew D. Bogert, Englewood, N. J.
Archive and Property Committee — Arthur Vap
Buskirk, J. A. Romeyn.
M
BERGEN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Membership List. December, 1 906.
Abbott, J. C Fort Lee
Adams, Dr. C. F Hackensack
Allbee, B. H
Allbee, B. H., Mrs
Allison, W. O Englewood (life)
Banta, Irving W Hackensack
Bennett, H. N
Bird, E. K
Birtwhistle, Hezekiah Englewood
Bogart, Peter, Jr Bogata
Bogert, A. D Englewood
Bogert, Daniel G
Bogert, I. D Westwood
Bogert John Hohokus
Bogert, Matthew J Demarest
Brenden, Charles Oakland
Brinkerhoff , A. H Rutherford
Brohel, Joseph A. River Edge
Cameron, Alpin J Ridgewood (life)
Cane, Fred W Bogota
Christie, C Leonia (life)
Colver, Fred'k L Tenafly
Cooper, R. W New Milford
Corsa, George Ridgewood
Currie, Dr. D. A Englewood
De Baun, Abram Hackensack
Delemater, P. G Ridgewood
Demarest, Milton Hackensack
Demarest, I. I
Demarest, A. S. D
Doremus, Cornelius Ridgewood
Dutton, George R Englewood
Easton, E. D Areola
Edsall, S. S Palisades Park
Ely, Addison Rutherford
Ely, William North Hackensack
Engelke, A. L Englewood
Engelke, Mrs. A. L
Esray, J Maple Ave., Hackensack
Fairley, Rev. J. A Hackensack
Fitch, Porter Englewood
MEMBERSHIP LIST
Ford, F. R 24 Broad St.. New York
Glover, T. N Rutherford
Goetschius, Howard B Dumont
Gray, Coleman Hackensack
Green, Allister 1 E. 61st St., New York (life)
Grunow, Julius S Hackensack
Hales, Henry Ridgewood
Harding, Harry B Hackensack
Haring, Teunis A
Heck, John Westwood
Holdenby, Dr. H. S Englewood
Holdrum, A. C Westwood
Holley, Rev. William Wells Hackensack
Holley, A. J
Hunter, John M Englewood
Johnson, Rev. Arthur Hackensack
Johnson, William M
Koehler, Francis C North Hackensack
Labagh, Wm. O Hackensack
Ladd, Rev. Henry M Rutherford
Lamb, C. R 23 Sixth Ave., New York
Liddle, Jos. G 128 Bowery, New York
Lincoln, J. C Hackensack
Linn, W. A
Livingston, Alexander, Jr Englewood
Lord, Lewis P Hackensack
Lyle, George W
Lyle, Mrs. George W
Mabie, Clarence
Mabon, J. S
Marsh, Dr. L. S
Pearsall, J. W Ridgewood
Phillips, Miss Helen
Phillips, Miss Imogene
Poppen, Rev. Jacob Wortendyke
Prosser, Miss Harriet Englewood
Ramsey, J. R Hackensack
Richardson, Milton T Ridgewood
Riley, John H Hillsdale
Rogers, Henry M Tenafly
Romaine, C Hackensack
Romeyn, James A
Sage, L. H
Schermerhorn, George T Rutherford
Semple, Mrs. EHzabeth ' Englewood
MEMBERSHIP LIST
Seufert, Charles G Leonia
Seufert, William M Englewood
Sewall, H. D Maywood
Smith, J. Spencer Tenafly
Smith, William "
Snow, W. D Hackensack
Speck, Frank G "
Stagg, Edw. D Leonia
St. John, Dr. David Hackensack
Stoney, H. P
Talmage, Rev. D. M Westwood
Talmage, David Leonia
Taylor, Ira Westwood
Taylor, Mrs. Ira
Tillotson, Joseph H Englewood
Tyndall, Wm. DeMott 141 Broadway New York
Van Buskirk, Arthur Hackensack
Vanderwart, Rev. Herman •. . "
Van Emburgh, Dr. Walter Ridgewood
Van Home, Dr. Byron G Englewood
Van Neste, Rev. J. A Ridgewood
Van Wagoner, Jacob "
Van Winkle, A. W Rutherford
Van Winkle, Frank O Ridgewood
Vermilye, Miss E. B Englewood
Voorhis, Rev. J. C Monsey
Vreeland, Jacob H East Rutherford
Vroom, Rev. W. H Ridgewood
• Wakelee, E. W Demarest
Ward, Rev. Henry Cioster
Westervelt, Mrs. F. A Hackensack
Wheeler, G. W
Whitbeck, C. V. H
Willis, W. C Tenafly
Winton, H. D Hackensack
Wood, Robert J. G Leonia
Young, Dr. F. A Hackensack
Zabriskie, Capt. A. C. . . 52 Beaver St., New York (life)
Zabriskie, Hon. David D Ridgewoood
Zabriskie, Everett L "
Zabriskie, W. H Hackensack
Honorary.
Folsom, Capt. A. A Brookline, Mass.
Nelson, William Paterson
Sanford, Rev. E. T West I 1th St.. New York
ANNUAL REPORT
of
Dr. Byron G. Van Home, Recording Secretary, February
22, 1907.
An annual report of the Secretary seems a necessity in
order to bring before the society a resume of the work done
by the various committees, as well as by its individual
members.
The regular business meeting was held Feb. 22, 1906, at
which the several committees reported progress in their work.
Copies of the "Papers and Proceedings," 1905-1906, were
ordered forwarded to Adjutant General's office, Trenton;
State Library, Trenton, and Daughters of American Revo-
lution, Newark.
After election of new members and officers for the ensu-
ing year the society and their friends adjourned to the dining
hall to partake of their Fourth Annual Dinner.
The following toasts were responded to :
Introductory Remarks President Cornelius Doremus
"The Past Year" A. DeBaun, Secretary pro tern.
"Value of Historical Societies" Hon. Henry Huston
"The Day We Celebrate" William Nelson
"Ingelynde Overblysselen" (Dutchisms imbedded),
Jacob Poppen, Ph. D.
"Early History of Medicine in Bergen County,"
Byron G. Van Home, M. D.
iO REPORT OF SECRETARY
"What is New Jersey Doing in Historical Work?"
T. N. Glover
"The Truth About Crusoe Island" F. A. Oher
"The Passing of Family History Through the Demoli-
tion of Family Burial Places" . . . Everett L. Zabriskie
"Development of the Postal System in Bergen County"
C. Van Husan Whitbeck '
"What's In a Name?" Eugene K. Bird
During the past year our President has given an inter-
esting talk before the Library Society at Tenafly on "His-
toric Buildings," using lantern slides as an adjunct, thus
bringing his audience into closer relation with the work that
he has accomplished. This lecture was repeated before the
Men's class of Calvary Baptist Church, Hackensack, and is
booked for two other towns.
Mr. T. N. Glover, another of our workers, gave a much
appreciated talk to a large audience in Englewood. It has
been arranged to hold similar meetings in different parts of
the County, beginning with Westwood.
The matter of placing more tablets has been before the
society, and the President was empowered to make a list of
suitable sites.
At the present time a committee are at work investigating
the matter of incorporating the society, but arrangements
have not yet been completed.
Bound copies of the "Papers and Proceedings of the
Bergen County Historical Society from 1902-1906," have
been sent to the State Library, Trenton, the State Historical
Society, Paterson and Passaic Libraries.
Acknowledgment of the receipt of the book has been re-
ceived from each of the above.
The Committee on Genealogy, Biography and Early
Settlers are collecting and preserving all available data re-
lating to their subject.
REPORT OF SECRETARY 11
Each committee has done a vast amount of work. Their
energy, combined with the earnestness of each individual
member, has increased our Hst from the I 1 I members re-
ported at the meeting in 1 906 to 1 26.
It is earnestly hoped that the report next year may show
still more favorable results, which can be accomplished by
individual efforts-
REPORT OF THE HISTORIOGRAPHER,
r. N. Glover, to the Annual Meeting, February 22, 1906.
When this office or committee was created, it was charged
with the duty of investigating historical matters and suggest-
ing topics to be mvestigated, and gathering general informa-
tion. My work during the past year has been surveying the
field, locating historical points and finding the truth connect-
ed with them. The more I work, the greater number of
localities I find, and the greater number of traditions. But
the traditions are so mingled that few of them are of much
value. The work has led me to writing letters to many
people and to interviewing more. And here I want to say
that, despite the talk which I have heard that the people of
Bergen County are not interested in their history, I have
found them very greatly interested — far more than most
communities — and very willing to give me all the informa-
tion at their command. A curt, uncivil answer I have never
received. And interest in the work of this society is grow-
ing, and it should take more notice of this interest than it is
taking — its meetings should be so planned that time may be
given to impromptu talks — let some one lead and others
speak as each feels moved. Mr. Nelson tells me that years
ago the State society followed this plan and much valuable
information was elicited. Our Committee meetings the first
year were planned along these lines, but they have not been
carried out. These little points, often mere boyhood rem-
iniscences or family traditions, often give us clues to events
of great consequence, and the society should have a record
of these.
Some of my time has been devoted to gathering informa-
tion embodied in the paper published in your Annual. I
have still in my notebooks twice as much material as used.
My attention has been called to that oft repeated joke
that "New Jersey is out of the Union," and from what I
have gathered I can say the pith and points redound to the
honor of Jerseymen and their free thought. Incidentally, I
have gathered much information about the Frenchman's Gar-
den and its remains down near New Durham and of its
South Carolina counterpart.
I cannot now enumerate the historic places I have on my
list, time is lacking, so I pass on to call the attention of the
society or its special committees or individuals to the follow-
ing topics and our need of information upon them. It might
14 REPORT OF THE HISTORIOGRAPHER
be well enough for certain committees to take up their inves-
tigations during the coming year and to work with me in
regard to them. I will aid them in whatever way I can.
First — In regard to the camp grounds of the Revolution.
There were several of them in this county. I have practi-
cally exhausted Fort Lee. But next to it was Paramus.
Where was this camp? Near the old church, is the usual
reply. Yes, but which way from it, and how close to it?
Did the soldiers have huts or simply tents? Were soldiers
there all the time? How many were there? I wrote to
Rev. S. Vroom, of Ridgewood, and he replied, "An old
man living here tells me that his stepfather remembered all
about the old camp and often related all the important facts
in his hearing. He says the camp was just south of the
church." But the poet. Barlow, who wrote the old-fash-
ioned poem "Hasty Pudding," was at one time a chaplain
in the army and he writes to friends one evening that he
had been all day making the rounds of his camp at Para-
mus, and that it extended from Paramus four miles toward
Hackensack. There are several camp sites in the county,
but in no one of them can we find the exact locality. One
was at New Bridge, others at Steenrapie (wherever that
may have been), Closter, Ramapough and Oakland. Others
are mentioned and future searching may find them. Suffern
and Tappan are just beyond our borders. I am told there
are camp relics in this town which were found years ago on
Hackensack Heights. The camp grounds of the enemy are
worth looking up. One of them was just east of Paradise
Park in Bergenfields. I have seen a metallic tobacco box
which belonged to some Hessian. It was found there years
ago.
Secondly — We want more information about the roads
over which the armies marched and countermarched in this
county. The army under Washington crossed parts of the
county four or five times during the war and sections of it,
under various generals, were here twice that number of times.
How they came and how they went, we cannot tell. The
localities of the British raids we can give pretty well.
Thirdly — A fourth topic is very important since it deals
directly with many of the old families of the county; it is
the Tories of the Revolution and their reasons for adhering
to the English cause. I understand a partial list of these
families has been prepared. That they were numerous we
know — probably outnumbered the patriots three to one —
but that they deserve the opprobrium heaped upon them, I
REPORT OF THE HISTORIOGRAPHER 15
do not believe. Major Drummond is said to have enlisted
two hundred of his neighbors in his New Jersey battalion.
Certainly he could not have enlisted that number from the
"thugs and murderers" of this region. I do not know how
it was in Bergen County, but in New England and Penn-
sylvania, the Tory party comprised men of wealth and
standing in the community. In some parts of New England
to belong to the Episcopal Church was to belong to the
Tory party. Men of that stamp were no more murderers
and outcasts from society and traitors than they are to-day.
But hanging on the skirts of their respectability were a set
of scoundrels, murderers and thieves, if you wish to call
them, who were ready for any dirty work. They appear
wherever and whenever a social disturbance occurs and
they espouse the cause of the side that gives them the most
money. Claudius Smith was a thief, a murderer, and a
Tory. Judge Jones was a Tory, but no murderer. If
Washington and Hamilton after the revolution could plead
for them with the States that outlawed them, and even
in I 788 procure the repeal of their laws in some States, at
this day we certainly can deal justly by them and dispas-
sionately study their motives. The great majority of them
were law-abiding citizens. Why did they cling to the
old time government when resistance to tyrants was obedi-
ence to God? This work can be done by a committee, but
would be best in the hands of some descendant of these old
Bergen families who can have access to family papers and
traditions. It is indeed a neglected field of history, and he
who studies it up will render great service to America.
I have in mind a subject on which I can get only the most
vague information. I am told that in the late 50's, in the
town of Lodi, in this good, old Democratic county, a sta-
tion of the Underground Railroad existed. Who can tell
anything about it?
REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON
GENEALOGY, &c.
By Mrs. Frances A. Westervelt, to the Annual Meeting,
February 22, 1906.
Macaulay said:
"A people, which takes no pride in the noble achieve-
ments of its remote ancestors, will never achieve anything
worthy to be remembered by its remote descendants."
Genealogically. — I have assisted many in tracing their
records. I have made a very large collection of full and
part records of many families, which I am willing to pass
on to those interested. Mr. B. H. Allbee has assisted me
greatly in this work.
Biographically. — 1 here is one person who has appeared,
through all my years of work of research, in every way de-
serving of a tablet, if not in the hall of fame, certainly in
the County of Bergen, and that man is Dr. Peter Wilson.
He v/as this County's Patriot, Soldier, Legislator and Edu-
cator. Hackensack was his home during many years when
history was bemg made, mcludmg the period of the Revo-
lutionary war. When his work was finished in the City
of New York, he returned to his home in Hackensack,
where he died in August, 1825, in the seventy-ninth year
of his age. A modest stone in the churchyard on the Green
at Hackensack marks the grave of the man of whom Bergen
County can well be proud. I have several valuable articles
in regard to his life and history.
Early Settlers. — Time will not permit my telling of the
many interesting things learned of the early settlers, bui
any one interested can find in the society's room, in the
Johnson Library, three books, well filled with all things his-
torical, my year's work, which I give with great pleasure
to the society.
I
i
NOTES ON INDIAN LIFE IN BERGEN
COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.
By Frank G. Speck and Clifford M. Story.
To those who are at all familiar with the native inhabitants
of the United States before the appearance of Europeans on
the Continent, it is well known that tribes of men speaking
widely different languages, and having quite different types
of culture, existed here. Some of them were agriculturists
and sedentary, some hunters and nomads. Some of the
largest of these linguistic groups held territory extending
from the Atlantic to the Mississippi Valley, between Vir-
ginia and Newfoundland. This division is known to stu-
dents of American languages at the Algonquin. Some of
the tribes included in it have attained a wide historic notoriety
in border wars and are familiar to all readers of history as
the Shawnees, Sac and Fox, Chippewas, Kickapoo, Miami,
Delawares and Abenaki. In general it may be said that
all the native inhabitants of the New England and Middle
States, except the warlike Iroquois in the Great Lake region,
were branches of this enormous family.
New Jersey was, for the most part, in the hands of the
above mentioned Delawares. Several subdivisions of the
Delawares have been made by writers, but the one with
which we are chiefly concerned here is that known as the
Unami. A sixfold division of the Unami has also been
made, and the names Neversinks, Raritans, Hackensacks,
Acquakanonks, Tappans and Haverstraws are all suggestive
of well known districts.
These divisions, to be more exact, were chieftaincies, that
IS, villages and settlements bound together by ties of con-
sanguinity and mutual interest under the nominal leadership
of some one of recognized ability.
In 1 643 the earhest explorers into the region of the Hack-
ensack and Passaic valleys found scattered villages embraced
under the name of Hackensacks. From the old accounts
we learn that their chief settlement and gathering place was
at Communipaw. Villages, varying in size from one to four
or five houses, were distributed over what is now bounded
by points located approximately near Jersey City, Staten Isl-
and, Newark, Passaic and the upper waters of the Hacken-
sack, Passaic and Saddle rivers.
20 INDIAN LIFE IN BERGEN COUNTY
Without giving special reference to the sources of our
information regarding the following remarks on the life of
the Hackensacks and their cogeners, we consider it only nec-
essary for the purposes of the present paper to use the ma-
terial at our disposal in such a way as to present, as clearly
as possible, a mental picture of their condition at the time
of their discovery.
The first white men who came in contact with the New
Jersey Indians were rather favorably impressed by the come-
liness, in form and feature, of the Indian men and the women
especially. Their dress was of the simplest kind; the men
wearing leggings and moccasins, augmenting their apparel in
colder weather by a sleeveless upper garment. Woman's
dress consisted of two deer skins, sewed at the edges, reach-
ing from throat to knee and bound at the waist with a girdle,
which was a sort of carryall for the smaller implements nec-
essary in their daily tasks. The women likewise wore moc-
casins with leggings reaching to the knee attached. As or-
naments and insignia, as well as the clothing, of the New
Jersey Indians were of the same general character as those
of the Indian tribes on the Atlantic Coast, no attempt will
be made here to describe them in detail.
Conditions of life in the New Jersey of pre-Colonial days
were rather favorable to the aborigmal inhabitants when
compared with the rigors of existence in the more barren
parts of the country. Magnificent forests of pines and de-
ciduous trees gave shelter to larger animals of the chase.
Elk, deer, bears and beaver gave over their warm pelts for
clothing, and their flesh formed their chief subsistence. The
bison was even found as near as western New York. Wild
berries and esculent roots were greatly sought by the women,
who dug the latter up with sticks and dried them for winter
use.
Not only were wild native vegetables used as articles of
food, but corn, potatoes and tobacco were cultivated with
some care in little garden plots close by their houses. Labor
in these vegetable patches was left entirely to the women,
who, if we are to judge from cases among the Indians of
to-day, considered any attempt of the men to share in their
field labors as an intrusion on their particular province.
Other branches of industry were probably the invention of
women in America, and it is not to be wondered at that they
retained and developed exclusively such handicrafts as pot-
tery and basket manufacture. Inventions such as the bow
and arrow, snowshoe, canoe, club, etc., are commonly at-
INDIAN LIFE IN BERGEN COUNTY 21
tributed to the ingenuity of man and in accordance with
pride in the invention end use of such utensils we find man
chiefly concerned in their construction and utilization.
The sphere of their primitive household was strictly in
the hands of the women, among our New Jersey Indians,
while all else, not strictly connected with the home, was con-
trolled by the men. To them fell the harder and more dan-
gerous tasks of hunting and fishing" and seldom for the space
even of a week could small forest communities feel secure
from the attacks of fierce avenging enemies from across
some river or mountain range. So it also fell to the men to
maintain a system of scouting while off on hunting excur-
sions when game had become scarce near their permanent
settlements. To this end they had adopted the practice of
cutting trees into equal lengths, sharpening the ends and
erecting them in circles about their Httle village, forming,
when completed, a stockade of security from any dangers
which might threaten them without. It was the custom at
certain times of the year for the men to depart from these
"castles," as the colonists later called the stockaded hamlets,
upon long expeditions of war and hunting, following up the
course of some convenient water course until well within a
foreign boundary. In such times the home settlement would
be left considerably depleted and exposed, to a certain de-
gree, to attack, the women and children being protected only
by a few old men and half-grown boys. It was in a period
of this kind at the Indian village, where Pavonia now is,
that the Dutch at New Amsterdam crossed over Feb. 25,
1 643, and annihilated the practically defenseless women
and children while the warriors of the Hackensacks were
busily crusading in the same way among the settlers of
Staten Island.
Upon their hunts the men were accompanied by dogs
which they had succeeded in gradually reducing to a state
of domesticity, as these animals were in all probability de-
rived from the wolf breed. In times of famine their flesh
afforded relief until such time as game became more plenti-
ful, but the Indian dog could not rightly be termed a pet.
They were socially divided into three kinship groups: the
Wolf in Northern New Jersey, the Turtle near the Dela-
ware River, and the Turkey in Southern New Jersey. These
groups were in their turn subdivided into smaller divisions,
called clans. All members of the clans considered their
descent only through the mother and reckoned them-
selves as brothers and sisters. Each group had a chief,
22 INDIAN LIFE IN BERGEN COUNTY
who, however, was not appointed by his fellow clansman,
but by delegates of other clans. These delegates convened
at some place and chose a man from among the eligibles of
the chiefless clan. After the convention they proceeded with
a ceremony in song, to the council house of the clan, and in-
stalled their man there in public view. This chief's duty
after his election was to represent his clan and its settle-
ments in intertribal affairs. His chief office, however, was
that of guardian over the sacred bundle of wampum belts,
about which so much has been written in local history. These
belts were a form of hieroglyphic treaty records. They
consisted of beautifully wrought beads of conch shell woven
in strips. Pictorial and symbolic designs were so arranged
on the belts as to suggest or call to the mind of the holders the
various items of treaties which they were always making with
outsiders. In short, the belts were mnemonic devices rather
than systems of writing in most cases.
Lesser chiefs, called by the colonists captains, formed the
head chief's council in each town. In the nation composed
of the New Jersey Delaware tribes a grand chief was chosen
from among the celebrities of the Tortoise group to stand as
their national head. That it was not beyond the reach of
these so-called savage chiefs to win imperishable fame in
some way or other is shown in the case of Chief Teedyes-
cung, otherwise known as Tammany.
Remarkably httle has been vouchsafed to us of informa-
tion on the religious life of the New Jersey Indians, but, by
analogy with the related tribes of the same stock, it is possi-
ble to assemble a few general remarks on their ceremonies
and religious ideas. As fruits, both wild and cultivated, ani-
mal flesh and fish played the most important role in their ma-
terial life, so they formed the chief object of interest in their
religious rites.
After the harvests were garnered and before they were
ready for general use the villagers gathered at their dance
ground, there to offer up the first fruits to the presiding deity
and to perform dances that seemed to embody, in a sense, the
sentiment of thanksgiving. Other dances were intended to
win over the good graces of the animal totems. These
dances were imitative. The participants formed a circle
with the drummers in the center contorting themselves in im-
personation of some particular animal deity as they moved
around. They also had a purification ceremony wherein
twelve men took part. A ceremonial house was used for
this rite. A pile of heated stones was placed upon the floor.
INDIAN LIFE IN BERGEN COUNTY 23
the twelve men ranged themselves about it and water was
poured over the pile. The great amount of steam generated
by this process caused them to perspire copiously, thus affect-
ing before the deity a sort of purification. Contests in works
of magic between rival witch doctors were furthermore char-
acteristic of religious gathermgs. We find that the mam ob-
ject in the religious life of the New Jersey aborigines was
the avoidance of evils at the hands of the many gods they
recognized. The evils might have been direct ones, such as
disease, famine or disaster, or the more vague results of ill
favor on the part of the gods. All natural manifestations
were believed to be those of deities, but the motive power of
all supernatural agencies was termed, as nearly as we can
translate it, mystery, and it was the recognition of this mys-
tery that the missionaries mistook for belief in a single god.
As far as we can judge, there was no connection between
right and wrong doing and religion. Good was only what
benefited them and bad what gave them pain.
The cure of disease among the New Jersey Indians was
treated as a religious rite, for all bodily affliction was attri-
buted to malignant spirits. A certain class of witch doctors
existed, in whose hands rested the treatment of diseases.
Their practice consisted in exorcising the cause of sickness
from the sufferer by performing certain rites which were, ac-
cording to tradition, taught them by the Bear. The doctors
during their ministrations wore painted wooden masks which
were supposed to drive out the troublesome disease spirit.
Whether their existed a regular society of these doctors, as
among the Iroquois and Ojibway, we do not know, but it
is probable that there did, as a special house in the village
was devoted to the exorcism of disease.
Young men just entering upon manhood and its lurking
dangers on the war path or hunting trail were accustomed
to bring themselves into religious communication with some
deity by a system of fasting and seclusion in the woods.
Here, it was believed, they would be visited by one of the
numerous deities who would remain by them during life as
guides and spiritual advisers. When a young man had thus
acquired a spiritual guardian, he made an image of the ani-
mal, and ever afterward wore it upon his person as an amu-
let. To this he incessantly prayed and made vows.
Leaving the above very general outline of the mental life
of the New Jersey Indians we come now to a consideration
of the more material side of their culture. For this we pro-
pose to rely more upon the results of our actual exploration
24 INDIAN LIFE IN BERGEN COUNTY
in this county than upon the information given us by early
writers.
It happens, fortunately for us, that most of the imple-
ments and utensils common to people at the stage of advance-
ment of the New Jersey Indians, were constructed of such
weather-withstanding material as stone, shell and bone. Of
course wood was largely used in their handicraft, but speci-
mens of this sort have naturally crumbled to decay long ago.
Up to the present time we have, fortunately, been able to
trace actual evidence of Indian occupation in Bergen County
in many places along the streams and creeks of the Bergen
County watershed. There are undoubtedly many other
localities which have seen Indian occupation, judging by the
occasional reports of finds upon different farmlands through-
out this region. The most promising region has so far been
along the banks of Saddle River, Kill and Sprout Brooks.
It might be well to say here that conditions for investigations
along the Hackensack River have not been so favorable to
the cursory examination with which we have had to be con-
tent from lack of time and means. But there is little reason
to doubt that, back from the marshes upon the higher
grounds, the Hackensack River was fairly well populated.
In describing locations of local village or camp sites we
feel pretty sure that there are very many more than we have
been, so far, able to discover.
But helps in the shape of plowed fields and washouts have
made it possible to trace evidences of primitive settlements in
many places along Saddle River and its branches. One of
these branches in particular. Sprout Brook, has yielded a
considerable quantity of material at three different points on
its banks, all within the radius of a mile. Places have been
found definitely where groups of lodges stood and where
primitive workmen occupied themselves in the manufacture of
stone implements.
Some diversity has been noticed in the material and form
of these implements, a diversity, in fact, so wide that it is
quite reasonable to suppose that the sites were occupied at
different periods, the earliest dating back to times when the
works in stone were very crude and rough ; the latest belong-
ing to a period when the primitive arrowsmith had reached
a high degree of skill. The nature of such conclusions, how-
ever, is quite uncertain, as the existence of man during the
glacial periods in America has not been satisfactorily proven.
Indeed, it is quite possible that both the crude and the fin-
ished implements were made by the same people at times not
INDIAN LIFE IN BERGEN COUNTY I'o
very far apart. We might add, however, that by crudeness
we mean poor workmanship, poor form and a poor choice of
material.
As before remarked, evidences of human occupation must
be looked for in objects of stone, so the process of determm-
ing sites has been chiefly one of searching out spots located
favorably for human habitation and then looking for chips
and refuse of stone workings there. Flint and quartz were
favorite material for the Indian craftsman. Frequently,
after a cursory view of a hillside, near some brook or swamp,
we have been rewarded within the space of half an hour by
locating the place where som.e arrowsmith had been at work,
as evinced by quantities of flint chips, flakes, cores and even
broken, incomplete and complete implements. Upon follow-
ing up such a clew the site of a lodge or group of lodges can
usually be found, and an examination of the surface soil for
some distance around may be expected to yield many Lroken
potsherds, refuse animal bones, arrowheads, net sinkers,
awls, spear heads, hammer stones, bone crushers, hide scrap-
ers, stone ornaments and occasionally inexplainable objects
that must have been of ceremonial portent. Naturally the
neighborhood of a spring would be chosen by the Indians as
a desirable place for the village or camp site, and such we
have found to be the case. In several instances slight eleva-
tions of disturbed soil, conical or ring-shaped, have led us to
examine more carefully the surface resulting in the unearth-
ing of artificial stone implements. Our first yield of imple-
ments and pottery was from a small village site on the farm
of Mr. Koch on Sprout Brook, just above where it crosses
tha Paramus road. That this locality had been a more fre-
q.;ented center of population than some of the other sites is
suggested by the fact that here potsherds and utensils of a
domestic character were more in abundance.
The material finds in general are of two main classes,
namely, dorfiestic implements and those used in the chase and
warfare. Of the former class the most interesting, perhaps,
IS the pottery which we have found in great abundance over
the whole area, broken into variously sized fragments by
frequent plowing and harrowing at the hands of the farmers.
A large percentage of these potsherds bear ornamentation,
both on the body of the vessel and on the rims. The ware
is of two kinds: one a fine, black, ash-like grade, which is
known to have been made by the Iroquois Indians of the
Lireat Lakes ; the other, a coarse, breakable red-colored
clay, which is typical of the Algonquin tribes of the Atlantic
26 INDIAN LIFE IN BERGEN COUNTY
Coast. It is quite possible that this may point to a very sig-
nificant historical fact which might receive recognition here,
namely, that the above-mentioned Iroquois, who are known
to have extorted tribute from the Algonquins, must have ex-
ercised the same power right here and probably used the
great water course of the Hudson for their highway. Thus
we may possibly account for the black Iroquoian pottery.
The designs and decorations on this pottery, as well as the
redder variety, are very symmetrical and in most cases pre-
sent a systematic arrangement. The most common is the
simple rope mark. But the designs are in many cases quite
similar to patterns found in other sections of the country, and
no further attempt will be made to describe them in detail,
although they present not a little beauty in form and
composition.
Soapstone (steatite) bowls were in vogue on the sites in
considerable quantity, as evinced by many broken pieces,
some of which we have been fortunate enough to partially
restore where the fractured edges fitted. Soapstone was
quite valuable to the natives, as it withstands the effects of
fire and could be placed directly over the flames, but it re-
quired a considerable journey for the local aborigines to
secure this useful material, as steatite quarries were very few
and far between.
Net sinkers, of soft stone, are fairly abundant and show
that the fishing industry was practiced to a considerable ex-
tent by the inhabitants of the sites. It might be mentioned
here that several of the sites we have located have been sit-
uated on the banks of a considerable marsh, intersected by
a brook, and indications are that, at the time of Indian occu-
pation what is now a marsh was a pond or lake. This
pond might easily have been stocked with fresh water fish
for the use of the Indians.
Hammer-stones, round in shape, with well-marked depres-
sions for the finger grip, have been yielded in plenty, and il-
lustrate quite a diversity in form and function as well as
workmanship. They are known to have been used in break-
ing bones for the marrow, and crushing clay in mixing it for
pottery manufacture. Hallowed stone cups with pestle-like
pounders have been found, which were probably used in mix-
ing paints and crushing small roots. Women's knives, with
long, saw-like edge, and hide-scrapers of flint and jasper
are also scattered over the entire area. There are also some
fragments of what appear to have been clay pipes decorated
with incisions. Elongated flint awls with eroded points show
INDIAN LIFE IN BERGEN COUNTY 27
how the women formerly exercised their art of sewing on
buckskm.
Our finds as regards personal ornaments have been rather
limited. Several flat objects of banded slate, rectangular in
shape were picked up in an imperfect condition. The pres-
ence of holes near their ends suggests that they may have
been suspended from cords in some way or another. In fact,
some of the Dutch writers mention the use of stone or shell
pendants by the Indian men of New Jersey, and it seems
quite likely that the above-mentioned objects may have been
used in the way noted by these writers. The general term,
gorget, has been adopted for specimens of this class, and
their distribution is remarkably wide all over the continent.
Their manufacture represented some of the best workman-
ship that the American Indians were capable of. Banded
slates and shales, frequently brought to a poHsh by friction,
were much in favor as material for gorgets.
Some of the stone axes found here are interesting, as they
show evidences of secondary adaptation to use. Besides the
regular grooving, near the head as a grip for the handle, they
show pitted depressions on both sides, and about the only
explanation of this that offers itself is that the axe secondarily
was used as a hammer. Like all Indian hammers, they were
held directly in the hand, and the depressions on the sides
were for the purpose of insuring a secure grip for the fingers.
Axes were often the objects of the most laborious care in
being brought to a high state of smoothness and even polish.
Further down on Sprout Brook, back of the Board farm,
is the site of what is presumably a large palisaded grass
house. On top of a slight rise about three hundred feet
from a spring all that remains of it is a low, circular ridge,
about 30 feet in diameter, raised less than a foot above the
natural level of the soil. All around this spot fractured and
complete implements and quantities of refuse material are
abundant. The most interesting product of this locality has
been a quantity of soapstone fragments of what was once a
large bowl. During the last two years we have been able
to accumulate some thirty pieces, but at this slow rate it bids
fair to be a long while before this curious old piece of fur-
niture will be brought to a state of completion.
One of the best preserved sites of occupation, in fact the
most typical, lies on a high bank of Saddle River, just below
where the trolley crosses it. The evidence here is a flat
area of almost pure sand, about 25 feet above the river level
and about 200 feet in extent, abundantly supplied with
28
INDIAN LIFE IN BERGEN COUNTY
stone relics, of which, up to the present time, we have only
taken out a small portion. Part of the bottom and side of
another large soapstone bowl lay directly exposed to view on
the surface when we first walked over the place. It is hardly
well to say anything exceptional about this place until a more
thorough examination has been made beneath the surface.
On the opposite side of the river the traces of habitation con-
tinue and probably extend as far as Rochelle Park. Going up
the Saddle River banks on the west side above the Paterson
Road, relics of the Indians again appear on the surface of
plowed fields, and with a little care and scrutiny of other
places in this neighborhood no doubt other Indian camp sites
could be determined.
OLD-TIME BERGEN COUNTY DOCTORS.
Read at the Annual Dinner, February 22, 1906.
BY BYRON G. VAN HORNE, M. D.
In the early history of many of the colonies the practice
of the healing art was chiefly in the care of the clergy.
Many of them were men of profound minds and highly
educated. The wants of the sick room carne naturally
within the sphere of their parochial duties. Many of them
were distinguished for their knowledge in medicm?; and wcit:
authors of some of the earliest medical papers pnnted in
America. In some instances the schoolmaster was also the
physician and surgeon of the neighborhood. There were
some, however, to whom the saying of the Apocrypha might
well be applied, "He that sinneth before his Maker, let him
fall into the hands of a physician."
Quacks abounded like the locusts in Egypt, and many
recommended themselv'^f to a full practice and profitable
subsistence.
In 1 735-36 diphtheria was very malignant, almost strip-
ping the country of children. The cure at this time was —
first, be sure that a vein be opened under the tongue; if that
can't be done, open a vein in the arm, which must be first
done or all other means will be ineffectual. Then take borax
or honey to bathe or annoint the mouth and throat and lay on
the throat a plaster. To drink a decoction of "Devil's bit"
or "Robbin's plaintain' with some Sal Prunelle dissolved
therein, as often as the patient will drink.
In the early years of its history New Jersey had
among its medical men a very limited few who had received
their training in the schools of Europe. The profession was,
at the first, largely composed of those who, without liberal
education, lived a year or two in any quantity with a prac-
titioner of any sort, read the few books on medicine which
came within their reach, and then, assuming the title of doc-
tor, offered themselves to the people as competent to cure
disease. They relied m.uch upon the use of herbs and roots.
Salmon's Herbal, published in I 696, was the text book
of a New Jersey physician of large practice and, in his day,
of much reputation. Being a man of property, he paid the
expenses of a messenger to England to obtain the volume.
It was a folio of 1 ,300 pages and cost fifty pounds.
30 OLD-TIME BERGEN COUNTY DOCTORS
Here is a description in part of one of the remedies on
page 26: "Piper Aquaticum or Arsmart — the Herb. It is
hot and dry, used chiefly in wounds. Hard Tumors and in-
veterate Ulcers. Some use in the transplantation of Disease
and removing of Enchantments. The green herb stewed
in a vessel is said to kill all fleas, and a good handful put
under a Horse's Saddle will make him go briskly, although
half tyred before. It is a specific against gravel and has
cured to admiration when all other things in the world have
failed. The Essence comforts the head, nerves, stomach and
lungs, and is admirable against all cold and moist diseases
of the brain and nerves as falling sickness, vertigo, lethargy,
apoplexy, palsy. Megrim, etc., and made into a syrup with
honey is a good pectoral."
Every neighborhood seems to have had some one v/ho
could bleed and extract teeth. Occasionally a handy man
could straighten a cracked bone if it was broken, and get
great credit for doing so and was called a doctor, in nearly
all cases the remedies were the growth of the soil, very little
medicine being used and that of the simplest kind.
Among the Hollanders of Bergen County there was little
need of physicians for many years after the first settlements
began: the climate was healthy, and they were of a hardy
and enduring constitution. Malaria was comparatively un-
known. All the early writers and correspondents, who de-
scribe the condition of the country either in books or in
letters to their friends abroad, unite m pronouncmg East
Jersey a very healthy country. The scarcity of early physi-
cians in the immediate locahty of Bergen County, or resident
physicians within its limits, is accounted for by the fact that
the more wealthy of the citizens obtained their medical as-
sistance from places around, such as New York, Elizabeth-
town, and Newark.
Holland seems to have sent forth none regularly bred to
the profession of medicine, although her university at Leyden
was among the most renowed for chemistry and kindred
sciences in Europe. The science of medicine was in its in-
fancy all over the civilized world. What is now understood
by that term has been the growth of the last 125 years.
There was no such thing as a school of Medicine in Amer-
ica, not even a course of lectures, until the middle of the
eighteenth century.
The year 1 688 is the first we hear of any doctor in what
is now Bergen County, and it is not in connection with his
profession.
OLD-TIME BERGEN COUNTY DOCTORS 31
In 1 688 the court for the trial of small causes was to be
held monthly at the house of Lawrence Andriss, of New
Hackensack, and also "at the house of Dr. Johannes, on the
Hackensack River, then in the County of Essex, for the
inhabitants of New Barbadoes and Acquackanick." This is
all that is known about Dr. Johannes, that he lived in what
is now Hackensack, in the then County of Essex, Bergen
County, extending only as far west as the Hackensack River.
But the above statement is of far more interest to the
Van Buskirk family. Old Hackensack was practically what
is now Ridgefield Park.
Christian Barents came to this country from Holland in
1653, made a considerable fortune; died five years later,
leaving a widow and three sons. Lawrence Andriessen mar-
ried the wealthy widow and afterwards moved to what is
now Englewood, then called New Hackensack. The land he
took up is on Liberty road, the site of the old homestead ol
which is about one-fourth mile west of the Tenafly road.
He was something of a sheriff and cattle ranger, and it was
at his house where court was held corresponding to our court
of common pleas. A deed bearing date of June 8th, 1 677,
given by the Indians tf. David des Marest (the Demarest
tract) states, that the tract was bounded on the south by
lands of Lawrence Andriessen (Van Buskirk), and the
dividing line was a brook, called by the Indians Kessa-
wakey, a little stream flowing into the Hackensack at New
Bridge. The line ran eastward to a point just below Tenafly
station, where it was intersected by the Tenakill creek. Law-
rence Andriessen was therefore living on his property joining
the Demarest tract before June 8, 1677. Before he died
he took the patronym of Van Buskirk, and is the progenitor
of all the Van Buskirks His three stepsons took the patro-
nym of Van Horn, the second one of whom, on August 4th,
1 696, purchased a farm in what is now Closter and Har-
rington Park, the original deed for which I now have in
my possession. It is needless to say that I am proud to be
a descendant of this Cornelius C. Van Horn.
Dr. Van Emburg must have practiced in or about Hack-
ensack before I 709, as a deed is filed that year to his
widow.
The next one of whom I find any account is Dr. Abra-
ham Van Buskirk, who hved at Paramus and was surgeon
in the First Militia of Bergen County, Feb. I 7, 1 776. In
July of that year the Provincial Congress ordered that the
treasurer pay to Dr. Van Buskirk and two others the sum of
32 OLD-TIME BERGEN COUNTY DOCTORS
335 pounds, 10 shillings, being the amount of 79 stands of
arms at 4 pounds, 1 shilhngs apiece. But before the year
was out he had gone over to the British, bag and baggage,
family and all. He was the leader of many Tory raids in
Bergen County, one raid through Closter in 1 779.
Judge Fell, V ho lived at Paramus and who was well ac-
quainted with Col. Van Buskirk, was captured in 1777 by
the Tories and taken to Paulus Hook. He was recognized
by the Tory colonel, when the following conversation took
place :
"Times have altered since last we met," said the colonel.
"So I perceive," coolly replied the judge, lookmg at the
colonel's uniform.
'Well, you are a prisoner, and going over to New York,
where you will be presented to Gen. Robertson, with whom
I have the honor to be acquainted. I will give you a letter
of introduction," said the colonel.
The judge thanked him and accepted the letter, which he
afterwards presented to Gen. Robertson. It happened that
the judge and Gen. Robertson had been friends before the
war. The purport of Van Buskirk's letter of introduction
was that John Fell was a notorious rebel and rascal, and
advised that due care should be taken of him. Gen. Rob-
ertson handed the letter to the judge and said, "My old
friend, John Fell, you must be a very altered man and a very
great rascal, indeed, if you equal this Col. Van Buskirk."
Upon no less than two occasions efforts were made by the
British in Nzw York to assassinate or capture Gov. William
L: /!:"; '.en of Nev/ Jersey.
!"> February, 1 779, Ephraim Marsh, Jr., while on Staten
Island, was approached by Brigadier-General Cortland
Skinner and others of the Tory volunteers who offered him
two thousand guineas ard a life pension for that "damned
eld rascal. Gov. Livingston, delivered dead or ahve on
Staten Island." Later Vt:i Buskirk renewed the negotia-
tions, Marsh having refused to become a party to the plot.
The pubhcations of these facts led to a sarcastic and spicy
correspondence between Gov. Livingston and Sir Henry
Clinton.
There is one redeeming incident of his military career.
Edward Stanton, an American soldier who was one of the
survivors of the British massacre at the capturing of Fort
Griswold, Ct., under General Benedict Arnold, was wound-
ed by a musket ball passing through his body, and, while he
was bleeding profusely, Col. Buskirk gave him a silk cap
OLD-TIME BERGEN COUNTY DOCTORS 33
to place in the wound to stop the bleeding, and also gave him
a cup of water. Col. Van Buskirk said to Mr. Stanton,
"Recollect that although I fight in battle, I am a friend when
it has subsided." After the war he and his family settled
in Nova Scotia, where they have become influential.
Dr. James Van Buren, who practiced in or about Hack-
ensack at the beginning of the war, was another Tory who
had his property confiscated. He married Blandina Ryer-
son, went to Nova Scotia, but evidently his wife didn't Hke
the new country, so in 1 79 I they came back to New Jersey
and bought a tract of land where is now the Erie station at
Chfton. He died in I 802, leaving a number of children.
The same year he died his widow married Lawrence Ep
Ackerman, the marriage being recorded in the Dutch church
m Hackensack.
Dr. John Campbell was a practicing physician in Hack-
ensack subsequent to the Revolution. He was a son of
Archibald Campbell, who is noticed by the historian as fur-
nishing the table of General Washington when he had his
headquarters at the house of Peter Zabnskie in November,
1776. Dr. Campbell was born Feb. 13, 1770, spent his
life in Hackensack in the practice of his profession, and was
esteemed a good physician and exemplary citizen. He died
Dec. 15, 1814, aged forty-four.
Josiah Hornblower was a practitioner of medicine in
Bergen County. He was a brother of Qhief Justice Joseph
C. Hornblower of the Supreme Court of New Jersey. Dr.
Hornblower was born at Belleville May 23, I 767. He
studied medicine with Dr. Steele at Belleville and com-
menced practice in the town of Bergen, I 789. His field
of practice extended all over what is now Hudson County,
the old township of Hackensack, Fort Lee, and frequently
crossing the Kill von Kull, to the northerly end of Staten
Island. From 1789 to 1807 he was one of the two or
three physicians resident in that district. Dr. John Campbell,
of Hackensack, being one of the others. In the War of
1812 Dr. Hornblower was appointed surgeon and was as-
signed to duty at the old arsenal on the heights. He con-
tinued in active practice till I 844, and died May 7, 1 848,
aged eighty-one years.
Benjamin Blacklidge setded as doctor in Closter in the
latter part of the eighteenth century, and followed school
teaching also. He was the first English school teacher in
Bergen County. Many of his descendants are still living in
Closter.
34
OLD-TIME BERGEN COUNTY DOCTORS
Cornelius S. Blauvelt was a physician in Hackensack
in 1819.
Here is a specimen of medical directions given by Dr.
John Darbe, of Elizabethtown, N. J., November 5, 1786:
"Once in a few days let blood be taken from the arm;
in case the pain continues in the head, this must be done as
bis strength will allow.
"The blister on the head must be continued, and the
Seton till all the symptoms are removed. The Seton espe-
cially should be continued many months."
Here is another specimen of medical direction written
about 1810 by Dr. Wm. Ellison, of Paterson, and who, no
doubt, practiced in Bergen County:
"Please take a small wineglassful of the medicine that
is in the bottle three or four times a day in a Httle gin, about
equal parts of the gin and medicine."
Wm. Ellison.
"To Captain John Anderson."
Here is a copy of one of his medical bills , 1811:
Gerbrant Van Houten, Esq., to Wm. Ellison, Dr.
March 5, Visit to see your Heyman salts 2.0
March 6,, Visit and castor oil in phial 3.6
March 7, Visit and drops 2.6
March 9, Visit and emetic 2.0
Two pills I .-
Pound 0. 1 1 .0
What stimulated more than anything else the progress of
medicine in New Jersey during the Eighteenth century was
the French and Indian War, 1 756- I 763. The English
army was accompanied by a highly respectable medical staff,
most of whom landed in the city of New York and con-
tinued for some years in the neighboring territory, affording
to many young Americans opportunity of attending mihtary
hospitals and receiving professional instruction. The physi-
cians who were commissioned as surgeons and surgeons'
mates, being brought into association with the British officers,
were led to know their own inferiority, and were stimulated
to improve their opportunities of practice and intercourse
with their more cultivated compeers.
During this war New Jersey spent on her mihtary estab-
lishment 40,000 pounds per annum.
New Jersey was the first of the colonies to have a
colonial medical society, which was organized June 27,
1 766. The original book of minutes is still in the possession
OLD-TIME BERGEN COUNTY DOCTORS 35
of the Medical Society of New Jersey, in good preserva-
tion. Sixteen physicians responded to the call, and on the
day appointed the Medical Society of New Jersey was or-
ganized. The constitution that day adopted was signed by
fourteen physicians, only one of whom, Joseph Sackett, Jr.,
was from Bergen County. At a semi-annual meeting of
the Medical Society at the city of New Brunswick, Nov. 1 0,
1818, application was made for the formation of a district
society in the County of Bergen. It must be remembered
that Bergen County at this time included part of Passaic
and all of Hudson Counties, Passaic being made a county
by act of the legislature Feb. 7, 1837, and Hudson in
1 840. The following doctors were authorized to form such
a society: David Mervin, Elijah Rosegrant, Henry Kipp,
Cornelius I. Blauvelt, James L. Baldwin, Garret Harlen-
beck, William W. Colfax, Issac V. Froeleigh, Garret
Banta.
This local organization must have lapsed, for at the sev-
entieth annual meeting of the State society, held at New
Brunswick, May 1 0, 1 836, application was again made for
a commission to institute a district medical society for Ber-
gen. The commission was addressed to the following doc-
tors: John M. Cornelisen, C. B. Zabriskie, John t. Ellis,
Jr., Peter H. Zabriskie, R. M. Stevenson, J. Bangs Aycrig,
R. Smythoff.
This society also lapsed, and it was not until Feb. 28,
1 854, that the Society now in existence was organized with
William N. Dayton as president, and Henry A. Hopper,
secretary ; Charles Hasbrouck, George B. Brown and Du-
Bois Hasbrouck were present.
Among the older physicians might be mentioned Dr.
Abram Hopper, who was born at Hohokus, April 26,
1 797. He attended the College of Physicians and Sur-
geons in New York, from which he graduated in 1818.
Dr. Hopper soon after settled and commenced the practice
of his profession at Hackensack, where he remained until his
death, Dec. 14, 1872. He had a particular fondness for
surgery, and was the only operating surgeon in the county
for many years, and enjoyed a wide reputation as skillful
in that branch of his profession. His son and grandson were
also physicians and have followed him to the great majority.
Charles Hasbrouck was another well-known physician
who located at Schraalenburg as active partner of Dr. Kipp
in 1839. In 1855 he moved to Hackensack, where he
died in 1 877.
36 OLD-TIME BERGEN COUNTY DOCTORS
William H. Day was born at Fairview, July 16, 1810,
where he practiced medicine for many years. In 1 867 he
moved to Fort Lee, where he died June 23, 1876.
Many of these old physicians covered large circuits, often
being away from home several days at a time. As a body,
they rendered efficient service to the public in their day and
generation ; and while much of their system of medication
to-day is obsolete, yet it serves as the stepping-stone of mod-
ern practice, and it would be unjust to decry their methods.
We must not take the picture from its frame. Most of their
lives were spent in the days of stage coaches, spinning wheels
and tallow dips. In no science has there been greater ad-
vance than in medicine and surgery.
J
FIRST LUTHERAN CHURCH IN BERGEN
COUNTY.
BY EUGENE K. BIRD.
What was doubtless the First Lutheran Church in Ber-
gen County, if not in New Jersey, stood on the east bank
of the Hackensack River, on the River road, immediately
south of the home of the late John F. Bound, near New
Bridge, the locality being sometimes called West Engle-
wood. No person of the present period has any knowledge
of the church building except as it was given them tradition-
ally by their parents or grandparents whose early lives dated
far back in the past century or two. That there was a
building on the spot there is little doubt. Under the old
apple trees, where briars and weeds grow thick and rank,
only a few feet back from the highway, the outlines of a
foundation may be readily traced. Between this founda-
tion and the river embankment are the remains of a number
of stones marking the graves of persons, some of whom were
apparently buried in the seventeen hundreds, while others
were laid to rest in the eighteen hundreds.
The more modern stones indicate the spot as a burial
place for a branch of the Van Buskirk family. Here are
inscriptions, all clearly legible:
In memory of Jacob Van Buskirk, born the 20th of
June, 1765, and departed this life 12th January, 1812,
aged 46 years, 6 months and 1 2 days.
Call and see as you pass by.
As you are now so once was I.
As I am now you soon must be;
Prepare foi death and follow me.
In memory of John Van Buskirk, who was born Sept.
10, 1742. and departed this hfe Dec. 8, 1820, aged 78
years, 2 mos. and 28 days.
My dearest friends they dwell above;
And all my friends in Christ below
Will soon come after me.
38 FIRST LUTHERAN CHURCH
In memory of John Van Buskirk, who departed this life
December 3d, 1825, aged 83 years and 4 mos.
How happy are the souls above.
From sin and sorrow free ; ;
With Jesus they are now at rest.
And all his glory see.
Elizabeth Van Buskirk, widow of John Bogert, born
Feb. 22d, 1722, died April 27, 1802, aged 80 yrs., 2
mos. and 5 days..
In memory of William Walter Weller, who died 24th of
August, 1833, aged 12 years.
Life how short.
Eternity how long.
In addition to the above there are parts of gravestones
covered with soil where they toppled over. Most of the in-
scriptions are wholly or in great part obliterated. One of
these shows figures 1775 or 1825, and "7 mos. and 20
days," with the words below:
Hark, from the tomb, a doleful sound.
My soul, attend the call.
What is apparently a foostone bears the letters "H. D."
At the southern border of this burying-ground is an old
vault, built into the embankment and facing a small ravine
which descends to the river. This vault is lined with stone,
and has a heavy oak door, now worm-eaten and decaying.
One of the traditions, told by an old resident, is that many
years ago the last remains placed in the vault were those of
a member of an Ackerman family, the coffin being contained
in a marble sarcophagus; that the vault was not securely
closed, when vandals entered the place, removed the marble
top and exposed part of the body, which crumbled to ashes.
The burying-ground is high above the river, which makes
a long, sweeping turn at the point. In the course of time the
stream has eaten deep into the sandy embankment. Many
persons tell how they have seen the ends of coffins protrud-
ing from the crumbling slope ; others declare that they have
seen skulls roll into the stream; and old fishermen aver that
on more than one occasion they hooked up from the water
human bones. Nobody seems to have taken thought for the
care of this old resting place of the dead.
Walter Bound, who lives immediately south of the old
burying-ground, says that he was told by a Mr. Lozier,
FIRST LUTHERAN CHURCH 39
twenty-five or thirty years ago, that there had been a wooden
church on the place, but it had not been used for religious
purposes during his informant's time; it had, however, been
utilized as a sheepfold in severe weather.
The Rev. Justus Falkner, who came from Halle, Sax-
ony, to New York in 1 703, appears to have been the mis-
sionary pastor of the church on the Hackensack. In "The
German Pietists of Pennsylvania — 1694-1708," Pastor
Falkner is quoted: "In the Jerseys there I visit three small
Lutheran congregations living a great distance one from the
other; all these three consist of about one hundred communi-
cants, the most poor people and poor settlers." He also
served four congregations in New York, numbering about
one hundred communicants in all. To minister to these 200
persons representing seven churches he traveled about 1 ,200
Lnglish miles. His field extended from Albany along the
Hudson to Long Island, Raritan, N. J., and other points.
Pastor Falkner died in Newburgh, N. Y., in 1 723.
In his private "Kerchen-Boeck," under date of Feb. 27,
1 704, the first ministerial act of the Rev. Mr. Falkner re-
corded is the baptism administered in the barn of Cornelius
van Boschkerck at "Hackinsack," to three children: Dirck,
son of "Mattheus Corneliussen en syner Huysuvow Trinje,
gebooren op Hackinsack"; a son of Laurens van Boschkerck
and his wife Henrichje; also a daughter of Rudolph Berg.
In April of the same year Pastor Falkner baptized in the
New York church, Antje, daughter of Piejer van Bosch-
kerck, of Constable's Hook, born Dec. 26, 1 703. Follow-
ing this, he wrote in his book. "O Lord! Lord! Let this
child, together with the three above written Hackinsack
children, be and remain engrossed upon the book of life,
through Jesus Christ. Amen."
Andreas van Boskerk was a warden of the New York
church, and Laur van Boskerk was vorsteher and overseer
(Kirch-meister).
One may but faintly imagine the trials of Pastor Falk-
ner in his long travels up and down the wilderness of the
Hudson and through the Jerseys, to carry the Bread of Life
to his "poor people and poor settlers." What should have
been a monument to his memory on the banks of the Hack-
ensack is only the almost obliterated site of a spot where he
is supposed to have gathered one of his little flocks.
While there is no definite history of the Lutheran Church
at Hackensack, its existence is further attested by a record
that the Rev. Dr. Henry Melchoir Muhlenberg, founder of
40 FIRST LUTHERAN CHURCH
the Lutheran Church in America, preached there in 1 750.
The congregation does not appear, however, to have been
sufficiently vigorous to maintain itself, and it presumably
died out.
THE PASSING OF FAMILY HISTORY.
By the Demolition of Private Cemeteries, Read at the
Annual Dinner, February 22, 1907.
BY EVERETT L. ZABRISKIE.
In passing through the northern part of New Jersey, and
especially Bergen County, whether wheeling, drivmg or
motoring, one passes many old homesteads, mansions of other
days, which were constructed mostly of stone, built to last
and of that quaint old Dutch style of composite architecture
familiar to the early settlers in this locality. Near the house
the garden, set in its design and filled, not with the more
delicate species of flowers of to-day, but those shrubs and
hardy perennials so dear to the hearts of our grandmothers.
To the rear, the barns with their low-spreading thatched
roofs and abundance of floor space. This scene causes one
to pause a moment and reflect. We find here the sturdy
farmer tilling the fields and supplying himself with most of
the necessaries of life therefrom. His was the ideal Hfe,
full of hard work, but independent and healthful. He was
distant from towns and churches. His children taught by
the traveling teacher going from house to house. Thus you
find a community of home-loving, hard-working. God-fearing
people, true to themselves and their country, as evidenced
by the loyal support rendered their country in time of need.
You can readily see, then, when the Angel of Death spread
his wings over such a homestead they cared not to sever the
ties and memories existing through life, but rather to com-
plete the cycle from the cradle to the grave upon that tract
of land they loved so well — the farm.
How strong the contrast when one considers the roving
life of to-day. For instance, a man born in Savannah,
reared in Washington, casting his first ballot in Chicago,
married in Los Angeles, living in New York, with business
interests at Havana.
Aside from the sentimental reasons, there are others why
the cemetery was located upon the farm ; namely, the
scarcity of public cemeteries, those existing being located near
the churches, and these some distance away. The idea of
the family vault was brought from the fatherland and ante-
dates the private cemetery somewhat.
42 THE PASSING OF FAMILY HISTORY.
Allow me to introduce a sketch of these cemeteries as we
find them to-day, selecting those near my native town for
purposes of illustration — the Hopper Cemetery. There are
more than one of these, but the one described is situated
about 500 feet north of the Undercliff station, on the main
line of the Erie R. R. ; it crowns a knoll of ground, sheltered
under the high cliffs of the foothills of the Ramapos. A
white fence made of wood and in the last stages of decay
surrounds this plot, which is about 50 feet square. There
are within twenty graves, some with marble slabs, some with
less pretentious brown stones, and some with field stones set
upon the edge and without inscriptions, and all at various
angles with the ground. In the centre of the plot stands a
whitewood tree, planted there when this plot was cared for,
but to-day it towers some sixty or seventy feet above this
humble aiaode of the dead, and its branches completely cover
the square. To complete this scene, brush to the height of
five or SIX feet grows wild.
The Zabriskie Cemetery.
Situated on the Paramus Road at Blauvelt's Mills and
upon the farm of Albert Hopper. Here we find practically
the same conditions hold good, except it is situated upon a
knoll near the brook and not protected by natural conditions;
also minus the fence, cr at least all semblance of the same.
Baldwin Cemetery.
Situated upon the Saddle River Road, a short distance
north of the old Joe Jefferson place. Here we find the con-
ditions are similar to the others, except where there was
brush some years ago there are trees to-day, and the place
has the appearance of a grove. There are, all told, about
a dozen of these plots near by, namely:
Hopper Cemetery at Undercliff.
Hopper Cemetery at Glen Rock.
Hopper Cemetery at Fairlawn.
\ ne Zabriskie Cemetery at Paramus.
The Baldwin Cemetery at Saddle River.
The Doremus Cemetery at Areola.
The Jarolmen Cementery at Lower Paramus.
The Westervelt Cemetery at Spring Valley.
Old Public Cemetery at Saddle River.
Old Public Cemetery at Paramus.
Old PubHc Cemetery at Wyckoff.
Old Public Cemetery at Hudson St., Hackensack.
And various other ones.
THE PASSING OP FAMILY HISTORY. 43
These were generally situated upon the rear of the farm
and near some stream. I have in mind only one of these
spots that has been preserved, namely, that on the Wessell's
property at Lower Paramus, and this should serve as a
model to the descendants of those who lie in these neglected
spots.
Are we, in this age of hustle and bustle, going to allow
our efforts for wealth and distinction to predominate over our
better natures, or give some thought and labor toward re-
storing and preserving the memories of these ancestors, who
are responsible for our existence and toward whom we owe
reverence and respect?
Now, right here let me explain the work of restoration
carried on by myself at Boardville, N. J., the original home
of the Boards. Here was the family plot, situated upon
a hill overlooking the Wanaque River. Thii spot was cov-
ered with brush, the surrounding fence dilapidated and the
stones at various angles. This scene met my eyes upon
driving through the place. I learned, upon inquiry, that
this property was bought by Miss Hewitt, and found the old
deeds preserving the plot from sale, but not from the ravages
of time. That day an agreement was reached to reset the
stones, clear the brush, paint and restore the surrounding
fence, clear the ground of all roots and grade and seed the
same. To-day, instead of presenting a view of a clump of
bushes, there appears a green-swathed plot, surrounded by a
neat fence and everything presenting a good appearance.
Could not other places be so treated?
How about the family history, ties, and the fund of in-
formation to be found chiselled upon these tablets? This in-
formation is invaluable to this Society, as much so as are the
various church records.
We see societies for the preservation of historic objects
donate funds and labor towards the recovery of some rehc
or the restoration of some old building, because some noted
person once used this relic or occupied this building; but
how much more interesting would the restoration of the last
resting place of this noted person and his family be?
Let us collect this fund of information with suitable photo-
graphs of the local conditions and record them in a volume
to be filed with this Society, where it would be accessible any
time. One can only realize the value of these records when
legal researches are made, or when genealogical work of any
kind is undertaken. The cost of this would be nommal, and
could be borne in part by the sale of this book to those in-
terested.
44 THE PASSING OF FAMILY HISTORY.
In conclusion, let us consider a few odd epitaphs col-
lected from these forgotten spots.
Such a one as this is rarely seen to-day :
Sacred to the memory of William Warmsley, who de-
parted this mortal life August 4th, 1 803. Fifty-nine years.
Oh, death, 'tis thine to end man's mortal life and cut
the tender ties of husband and wife; the tender sympathy
of married life dissolved by thee soon sickens, dies. But
soon, O King of Terrors, thy sway shall end, for thine,
though long, is not an eternal sleep. When the last trumpet
call shall sound, rocks and mountains on us fall; the just
shall rise, ascend and cease to weep. Accept this tribute,
dear departed friend, the last sad offerings of a much loved
wife, and, when with her the voyage of Hfe shall end. Oh,
may she join thee in eternal life. But thou who healeth all
human woes grant that she may not sit solitary till life's
close, but give to her another partner of worth and a few
more happy days upon this earth."
Rather lengthy, but covering all sides of the case.
Again :
Here lies the body of Jonathan Mound, lost at sea and
never was found.
Very consistent.
Another :
Beneath this stone Hes Johnnie Brown; of good men
Death has got one; to learn if it was loaded, he one day
blew in a shotgun.
Further:
I went to the country to see my mother; death took me
instead of another.
Again :
Reader, pause as you pass by; as you are now, so once
was I; as I am now, so you must be. Prepare for death
and follow me.
Again:
You had better go home and dry your tears, for I shall
stay here a thousand years.
A Hackensack epitaph:
Even for the dead I will not bind my soul to grieve;
death will not long divide, for it is not as if the rose had
climbed my garden wall and blossomed on the other side.
Again this expressive one:
To follow you, I am not content until I know which way
you went.
THE PASSING OF FAMILY HISTORY. 45
Or.
Here lies the body of John Oakes, who lived and died
like other folks.
Again:
Maria, wife of Timothy Brown, aged eighty years, she
lived with her husband fifty years and died in the confident
hope of a better Hfe.
NEW BRIDGE.
BY FRANCIS C. KOEHLER.
New Bridge, prior to the War of the Revolution, com-
prised all that territory lying on both sides of the Hack-
ensack River between Old Bridge (now River Edge) on
the north, Hackensack on the south, Teaneck on the east,
and Sluckup (now Spring Valley) on the west. The bridge
built across the river al this point, probably ten or twelve
years before the war, gave it its name. This bridge was
built on piles driven into the river bed, cross-sectioned and
tne floor laid over it. About the time of the War of 1812
the easterly piles were taken out and a draw put in. In
the year 1 888 the present iron bridge was built, and in
building the westerly draw the piles of the original bridge
were pulled out. They were square hewn and in a remark-
ably good state of preservation.
The first white settlers came to New Bridge in the middle
of the seventeenth century. At that time the channel did
not run in a straight course as it does now, but swung far
to the eastward, describing a figure S below the bridge. One
autumn afternoon a canoe slowly turned the great bend on
the easterly side of the river, now called the Old River,
containing three persons, a woman and her two sons. Their
name was Demarest. Before them, among the trees on the
bend of the river, they could see the tepees and wigwams of
an Indian village. Tired from their long journey from New
Amsterdam, they sought rest and shelter among the Indians
who lined the bank and who bore all evidences of friendli-
ness, and here they were destined to remain. A few days
later small-pox broke out in the village, and the good old
French woman, who had undergone so many hardships in this
new country, was one of the first to succumb. Tenderly
her sons buried her among the wild-roses on a small knoll
on the easterly bank overlooking the river, about three-
quarters of a mile north of the present bridge. Here, in a
strange land, and among a savage people, were interred the
remains of the old French woman, the first of the many who
were to follow. The little plot in which she was laid away
was destined to become the last resting place of many of
48
NEW BRIDGE.
her compatriots, and is still called the French cemetery.
Many an afternoon, after school, have I spent among the
tangled vegetation and wild roses trying to decipher the
fading inscriptions on the crumbling tombstones.
The sons decided to remain near the last resting place of
their mother, and new arrivals soon made quite a settlement.
1 he coming of the settlers scon forced the natives north-
ward, and where the wigwams once stood the smoke curled
above the hut of white men. On the easterly bank of the
river the population was composed mostly of French fam-
ilies, while on the westerly side lay the farms of the Dutch
and Poles.
At the breaking oul of the Revolutionary War New
Bridge was a bustHng little hamlet, surrounding the tavern
which stood on the site of the present hotel. It was a more
important village then than it is now. The river traffic and
the stage line which started daily from the New Bridge
tavern made it a place of commercial activity.
On the westerly bank of the river stood the farmhouse of
John Zabriskie, whilst to the south stood the large grist mill,
the great wheel turning slowly 'round, grinding the grain
brought from near and far. To the dock hard by was
warped a large schooner that plied between the village and
the city of New York. The peace of husbandry rested upon
the scene, and no wonder when the rumors of war reached
the settlement the stolid farmer-miller Zabriskie refused to
be disturbed, and many of his phlegmatic Dutch neighbors,
whose broad acres were heavy-laden with the crops growing
upon them, agreed with him that peace was far preferable
than war. Not so, however, with their Huguenot neighbors
across the river. Through their veins ran the hot blood of
freedom; they had crossed the seas to escape the despotism
of kings, and St. Bartholomew was still more than a mem-
ory. The spirit of the Fronde was bred in them, and they
hailed the coming conflict with delight. "Whilst the Dutch
or Polish farmer boy was harvesting his father's crops, bar-
reling his cider and pursuing the peaceful pursuits of hus-
bandry, the French boy was hastening to join the army of
Washington.
Since the farmer-miller Zabriskie and his friends would
not go to war, a relentless destiny ordained that war should
come to them, and so one autumn day the scene of war
shifted to New Bridge. Across the bridge came the ragged
host of Washington, staggering beneath its successive defeats,
and spreading over the acres of the farmer-miller and those
NEW BRIDGE ' 49
of his neighbors on the hill went into camp. Vainly did he
and his friends endeavor to resist the invaders, but they took
possession of his grist mill and stationed the soldiery in his
homestead and outhouses.
The grand old schooner was ruthlessly torn from the
moorings and sunk in mid-stream, lest she fall into the hands
of the British, who were reported but a few miles to the
eastward. On Brower Hill, where the reservoir now stands,
beneath which the Hackensack Valley spreads in beautiful
panorama before the eye, they threw up earthworks and
planted guns which commanded the bridge, the river and the
country extending to where the Teaneck Ridge marks the
eastern horizon.
Fully a week the tired army lay encamped in the fields
of Zabriskie, Banta and Lozier, when one morning the ad-
vance guard of Lord Cornwallis' army arrived. From the
Teaneck Ridge came a puff of smoke, and an eight-pounder
whistled over the valley, soaring high over the earthworks
and ploughnig into the hillside where stood the grist mill of
Farmer Van Saun in Sluckup. A man working in the field
saw it bury itself in the ground, dug it up and brought it
to the mill, where for years it lay, disappearing a few years
ago. Soon the English gunners got the range, and now and
then a shot would crash through the roof of the house of
Zabriskie or tear great rents into the sides of his outbuildings.
The proximity of the British brought the tired army to its
feet, and the general movement southward began, and soon
the last soldier had disappeared down the highway on which
the Bergen Turnpike trolley now runs. The scene of war
had again shifted, and New Bridge was left to its patriots
and its tories.
Such, briefly, is the history of New Bridge, and few of
us realize, when we are passing through the quiet little ham-
let, that we are treading on historic ground.
Of the many aged persons with whom I have discussed
the history of this section, probably the best informed was
Mr. Cornelius Banta, late of Spring Valley (referred to as
Sluckup). This old gentleman died about two years ago
at a very advanced age. Born on the farm where his fore-
fathers had lived a century before the Revolution, he had
from earliest childhood evinced a keen interest in the his-
torical events of this community. As a boy he had listened
eagerly to the tales of his grandfather, who was a lad of
fourteen in 1 776, and he kept them ever green in his mem-
ory. About this old gentleman there clung an atmosphere of
50 NEW BRIDGE
the long ago, and he believed in spirits and ghosts as firmly
as did his Dutch ancestors. Driving over Howland avenue,
Vk^hich leads from the main road in Cherry Hill westw^ard
to the Spring Valley road, one evening he told me how sev-
enteen soldiers of the Continental Army were overpowered
and killed one dark night in November, 1 776, by a band of
tories, while on guard duty at the little bridge which spans
a small creek which crosses Howland avenue at the foot of
the hill, and how his grandfather witnessed their burial on
the westerly slope of Brower Hill. This spot had been
shown to him by his grandfather, when a boy ; a rough board
then marked the spot, but the plough has long furrowed the
ground over the last resting place and all traces of it have
long disappeared. The bridge has ever since been called
"Spook Bridge," for no one would venture across it after
nightfall, as it was said to be guarded by the spirits of these
slain soldiers. With great solemnity the old gentleman told
me that he had tried to cross it one night many years ago,
but his horse became frightened and refused to cross, and
he was compelled to go home through a lane farther to the
north. As we drew nearer to the bridge, he poked me in the
ribs with his elbow and gravely asked: "You're not afeared.
are you
y.
Writing to me of the old fort on the brow of Brower
Hill, he says: "Washington's fort or earthworks — the very
spot where the reservoir now is — I have seen it, the banks
were about three feet high seventy years ago when I went
to schocl. Right across the road from Mrs. Lozier's house.
We boys went up there often to romp."
The old gentleman was rich with anecdotes of the begin-
ning of the 19th century, and he writes me in this quaint
way, this interesting biography which has historical value:
"There was a man at the time of the war who did live
right across the road from the Cherry Hill Church; his
name was Meeker. He did join the British Army. They
gave him a position as major. Meeker after '.he war he was
very loyal to the country and our Independence. He did
rejoice every fourth of July, more so than many others.
Washington's men left one cannon in the old fort. One of
the wheels was broken at the time that they did leave for
Morristown or Trenton. On a fourth of July the old major
and others went up on the old fort and put a charge of pow-
der in it. He got a nigger to touch her off. The cannon
did burst all to flinders and did kill the nigger. The old
major did die about 1 832. I was at his funeral among
NEW BRIDGE 51
other school boys. They did bury him at the French Ceme-
tery. He was buried by the honors of war, yet he was a
traitor to his country. There were s\me twenty soldiers —
they did shoot over the casket. I have seen several of the
tories who did join the British Army."
There is no doubt in my mind that the Continental Army
crossed the Northern Valley in several columns, the two
greater columns passing over the Teaneck ridge, one cross-
ing the Hackensack River at Old Bridge (River Edge) and
passing to the westward over the hill by way of the road
called Continental Avenue. Where the brook which divides
Riverside Borough from Midland Township crosses the
road they turned southward, until they reached the broad
acres of the Banta farm in Sluckup, where they encamped
within a short distance of the other column, which had
crossed the Hackensack at New Bridge as heretofore re-
lated.
On this subject the old gentleman wrote me as follows:
"My grandfather was fourteen years old at the time of
the war. He was among the soldiers every other day. His
father had a cider mill. He took a barrel of cider every
other day — got paid for it. All over the field where Rapp's
house is and Lozier's field, then up as far as Westwood. My
grandfather saw Washington three times on his horse. I
hope you will accept this with pleasure."
This small contribution, I trust, will supply a link in the
chain of events of our early history and give to New Bridge
a more conspicuous position in the chronicles of those times.
I
THE BAR OF BERGEN COUNTY.
Read at the Annual Dinner, February 22, 1907,
BY CORNELIUS DOREMUS.
The legal profession has had much to do in all ages with
the development and progress of the civilized world. We
read in sacred and secular writings how in the earliest days
men of the law were consulted by rulers and conquerors
when rules and customs were to be made and adopted for
the government of the people over whom they held sway.
Among ancient peoples, the laws of the Israelites, the re-
nowned and unchangeable laws of the Medes and Persians,
the Justinian Code, Roman laws, and to come to later
periods, the Code Napoleon, the great Common Law sys-
tem, known as English Jurisprudence, the Magna Charta,
our American Constitution and the acts of Congress, consti-
tutions and laws of our various States, are all the work of
lawyers and all prove the influence of and necessity for the
legal profession in promoting civilization and growth.
This is not intended as a panegyric on lawyers but an
introduction to the topic and to refute the frequently uttered
statement by disappointed litigants and others of a sarcastic
humor that lawyers are hars and cumberers of the earth, and
the less laws and lawyers we have in proportion would the
people thrive and be better off. In the humble opmion of
the writer, the legal profession has done its part right
worthily and side by side with the clerical, medical, scholas-
tic and other professions and walks in life to place our
county in the front rank. It is important in considering the
history of the Bar of the county that we glance at the his-
tory of the courts as well, that being the scene of their
activities.
There never has been any need in Bergen County —
thanks to the careful elucidation of the law and lucid presen-
tation of facts by the judges and lawyers of this county — to
do what Judge Grier did. He set aside the verdict of a
jury against an unpopular man with the remark, "Enter the
verdict, Mr. Clerk; enter also, set aside by the Court. I
want it understood that it takes thirteen men to steal a man's
farm in this Court."
54 the bar of bergen county
Earliest Courts.
Baron Van der Cappellen established a Court at Union
Hill and settled differences between the Indians and white
settlers. The exact date of the establishment of this Court
is not known.
In 1655 we find he appointed Adrian Post as his deputy
to "treat with the Hackensack Indians for the release of
prisoners"; and in 1657 he made a treaty with the Indians,
through another deputy. Van Dincklogen, which provided,
among other things, their "submission to the Courts of Justice
at Hospating, near Hackensack."
For nine years, from 1652 to 1661, and possibly a year
or two later, the Court of Burgomasters and Schepens were
in active operation in this section. A local Court, consist-
ing of a Schout (presiding judge) and three Schepens, or
magistrates, was established at Bergen in September, 1661.
The first judges were Tielman Van Vleck (presiding
judge), and Michael Jonsen, Harman Smeerman and Cas-
per Stainmets (associate judges). This Court had civil and
criminal jurisdiction, and an appeal from its decisions was
made to the Director General and Council at Manhattan.
The judges were required to take an oath to "carefully exe-
cute justice, prove faithful to their superiors (named in the
oath) and maintain the Reformed reHgion and no other."
Such were the bulwarks of our Reformed Church. It is
not to be wondered at that this church should be strong and
stalwart, with such a guardian in its infancy.
The first trial of which we have authentic record is the
case of Captain John Berry, November 11,1 673, for tak-
ing hogs from Major Kingsland. He was fined 250 guild-
ers. He appealed to the High Court at Fort Amsterdam,
and it was reduced to 100 guilders. It was paid (as was
the custom) 1-2 to the prosecutor, 1-6 to the church, 1-6 to
the poor, and 1 -6 to the Court trying the case.
Jury Trials.
In I 683 the twenty-four proprietors in that famous com-
pilation "The Fundamental Constitutions for the Province of
East New Jersey in America" decreed that "justice nor
right should be bought or sold" and that "all tryals should
be by twelve men, and as near as it may be, peers and
equals," also that "in cases of life there shall be at first
twenty-four returned by the sheriff for a grand inquest"; it
thus appears that our present jury system (grand and petit)
THE BAR OF BERGEN COUNTY 55
had a very early foothold in our jurisprudence and has prac-
tically maintained it without change, notwithstanding the
many changes in our mode of life.
On May 1 4th, 1 688, an Act was passed by the General
Assembly, held at Perth Amboy, creating a "Court for
Trial of Small Causes" to be held monthly at the house of
Lawrence Andriss at New Hackensack, the name by which
the settlement on the west side of the Hackensack River was
known. Old Hackensack was the territory on the east side
of the river. And one at the house of Dr. Johannes, on the
Hackensack River.
Hackensack Made a County Seat.
Prior to I 709 Bergen County did not include the terri-
tory west of the Hackensack River. In that year the lines
of the county were enlarged and the country lying west of
the Hackensack River taken in. The village of Hackensack
was then made the County seat and the first Court House
built. It stood on "The Green" near Main street, and was
destroyed by the British in 1 780.
There were twelve classes of crimes punishable with
death, but time and space prevent enumeration of them.
Stocks, pillory and whipping-post were familiar scenes. Only
four years prior to this time, in 1 704, the Supreme Court
of this State was established by Lord Cornbury.
The second court house and jail were built in Yough-
pough, in Franklin Township, during the Revolution. A
log jail was also built there. Hackensack was too near the
British lines. Noah Callington, a Tory, was hung at the
Youghpough jail.
The third court house of Bergen County, and first after
the Revolution, was built at Hackensack, near Main street,
on property later of Richard Paul Terhune. A clerk's
office was built about 1 8 1 2 on the west side of Main street,
north of the Susquehanna R. R., and remained until 1853.
In 1 8 1 9 the present Court house was built on property deed-
ed by Robert Campbell. The present generation of Bergen
County lawyers expect to see it replaced by a modern and
radical structure thoroughly up to date, as planned by the
present Baord of Freeholders and Court House Commis-
sioners.
Lawyers.
It is a curious fact that in our early history justices of the
peace were evidently regarded as superior beings, and it was
not thought proper to inoculate them with the virus of legal
56 THE BAR OF BERGEN COUNTY
lore, probably upon the theory that they might cease to be
judicious. We find that in the time of Lord Carterets by
an "Act of the General Assembly at Woodbridge, October
5th, 6th, 7th and 8th, I 676," it was enacted "That no jus-
tice of the peace within this province shall serve as an attor-
ney or advocate * * * upon penalty of paying ten
pounds fine. "
The same Assembly passed an Act that the salary of the
Governor should be paid in good, merchantable pease, wheat
and tobacco, and prescribed the method of its collection.
As no mention is made of how lawyers should be paid, or
whether they should be paid at all or should be obliged to
stick to the risky and uncertain "honorarium" system, we
are not further interested in the fifteen truly curious and
wonderful laws passed by that Legislative Assembly, and
pass on. In passing, however, we commend the brevity of
the session and paucity of laws to some other Legislative
bodies we wot of.
The lawyers, in the early history of Bergen and other
counties, were apparently held in much less esteem than are
those of the present day and generation.
Gabriel Thomas, in his history, written at the close of the
Seventeenth century, says: "Of lawyers and physicians I
shall say nothing because this country is very peaceable and
healthy; long may it so continue and never have occasion
for the tongue of the one nor the pen of the other, both
equally destructive to men's estate and lives ; besides for-
sooth, they, hangman like, have a license to murder and
make mischief."
A chronological list of the lawyers of the county would be
too lengthy for the limits of this paper, and I shall only
sketch, in outline and briefly, the history of the Bar of Ber-
gen County.
The first of whom we have knowleage is Tielman v an
V^leck, admitted as an attorney in 166K 247 years ago.
There undoubtedly was plenty of room for him. No crowd-
ing at the top and no congestion in the Court house when
he searched records or tried cases. In fact, he must have
been rather lonesome with no brother attorneys to borrow
nis books, steal his thunder and hand out to him the pleasant
amenities, e. g., notices of motion, trial of cases and other
pleasantries when he wanted to go shooting, attend a base-
ball game, go to the theatre and otherwise take due care
of his healtii.
THE BAR OF BERGEiN COUNTY 57
We next find the names of Claes Arentse Toers, Baltha-
zar Bayard, William Pinhorne, admitted in 1661; John
Pinhorne, admitted in 1707; David Ogden, Mr. Duane,
Mr. Lodge, dates of admission not known, but find them
practicmg betwen 1 720 and 1 750.
Robert Morris, John DeHart, practismg, but date of
admission unknown.
Mr. Legromsie, Mr. Nicoll, Dr. Isaac Brown, same.
(1756 to 1761.)
Elisha Boudinot appointed sergeant at law; Cortlandt
Skinner was appointed attorney-general July 10, 1754.
Of the above, William Pinhorne was second judge of
the Supreme Court in 1704; judge of Bergen County
Courts from 1 705 to 1 709. He had previously been
Governor.
His son John was County Clerk of Bergen County in
I 705 and admitted as a lawyer June 6, 1 707. He prac-
ticed in Bergen County. It would be impossible to men-
tion all the lawyers from this County within the limits of
this article, and I shall briefly present an outline sketch of
them to show how they have helped make the county history.
Common Pleas Judges.
Among the early judges of the Court of Common Pleas
we find names so famihar to Bergen County as Edmund
W. Kingsland, 1 789 ; Petrus Haring, 1 789 ; Garret Ly-
decker, 1789; Jacob Terhune, 1797; John Cutwater,
1 800 ; Abraham Westervelt, 1 800 ; and scattered along
through subseo,uent years, Adam Boyd, Christian Zabris-
kie. Garret Ackerson, Peringrine Sandford, Peter I. Acker-
man, William P. Rathbone, George Zabriskie, Albert G.
Doremus, Garret S. Demarest, Ashbel Green, Richard R.
Paulison, and among those more recent, and whose names
are almost household words, are: Charles H. Voorhis,
William S. Banta, Nehemiah Millard, Garret G. Acker-
son (father of "Young Garry," as we all knew him and
as he was so affectionately called), William E. Skinner
(now practising law in Hoboken), James M. Van Valen
and the present incumbent, Hon David D. Zabriskie. In
the earlier days most of the Common Pleas judges were not
lawyers, but for many years it has been the invariable cus-
tom to have the presiding judge selected from the ranks of
the lawyers, and eight out of the nine last mentioned were
lawyers, and excellent ones at that.
58 the bar of bergen county
Surrogates.
Among the lawyers of the county who have become sur-
rogates were Abraham O. Zabriskie, in 1838; Richard R.
Paulison, 1848; Isaac Wortendyke, in 1868; John M.
Knapp, in 1877. Other recent surrogates are Tuenis A.
Haring and David A. Pell (the present incumbent), who
are not lawyers, but are thoroughly equipped for the duties
of the office.
Prosecutors.
The list of lawyers who have represented the State as
Prosecutors of the Pleas of this County is not a long one,
but shows long service and brilliant careers. We begin
with Lewis D. Hardenberg, 1836; Abraham O. Zabriskie,
1 842 ; Manning M. Knapp, 1 85 1 ; WiHiam S. Banta.
1861; Garret Ackerson, Jr., 1869; Abraham D. Camp-
bell, 1870; Peter W. Stagg, 1895, and the present in-
cumbent, Ernest Koester, with John S. Mackay as assistant.
County Clerks.
There is only one lawyer who has occupied the responsi-
ble position of County Clerk, and that is John R. Ramsey,
who now occupies the office and has held it since 1895, to
the evident satisfaction of the people of the county, this
being his third term.
Senators.
We find quite a sprinkling of legal talent in the list of
State Senators, beginning with Richard R. Paulison in
1 844 and coming down to more recent times, Isaac Worten-
dyke, in 1880; William M. Johnson, in 1895; and Hon.
Edmund W. Wakelee, the present wearer of the senatorial
toga.
Assemblymen.
Here we find in former times the lawyers were hopelessly
in the minority, practically none until Cornelius Christie,
M. C. Gillham and Oliver Drake Smith prior to 1879, and
another hiatus until 1892, when we find Samuel G. H.
Wright, and in 1894 David D. Zabriskie; in 1898, John
M. Bell, and in I 899, Edmund W. Wakelee. Since then
we have had George Cook, Clarence Mabie, and now have
Guy L. Fake.
the bar of bergen county 59
Justices of Supreme Court.
Bergen County has had the honor of representation on the
Bench of the Supreme Court in the person of Manning M.
Knapp.
Other Honors.
Other honors which have come to members of the Ber-
gen County Bar:
Abraham O. Zabriskie was appointed Chancellor after
he had been Surrogate, Prosecutor of the Pleas, State
Senator.
Charles H. Voorhis and William \Valter. Phelps, mem-
bers of Congress.
WiUiam M. Johnson, in addition to being acting-governor
and Senator, was appointed by President McKinley to the
responsible position of First Assistant Postmaster General.
Edmund W. Wakelee, as acting-governor while in his
hrst term as Senator.
There are at present thirty-six lawyers practising in this
county, and the spirit of fraternity and good feeling pre-
vailing among them is very marked and greatly adds to the
influence for good exerted by the Bar.
On Dec. I 6, 1 898, a Bar Association was formed and
is composed of practically all of the lawyers in active prac-
tice in this county. It holds frequent meetings, has many
active committees, and is keeping in touch with all that re-
lates to the welfare and advancement of the interests of the
county.
Most of the county lawyers are also members of the
State Bar Association, and the records show that standing
reputation and influence of the members of the Bergen
County Bar is fully up to the standard of any Bar Associa-
tion of the United States.
This paper would not be complete did it not contain a
tribute to the marked influence exerted upon not only the
Bar, but all the people of this county by the lamented Jus-
tice Dixon, who presided over our Circuit Court over a
quarter of a century, and no man ever left a greater or
more enduring monument than the earnest and sincere love
and affection of the entire population of our County of
Bergen.
^ History
Constitution
. Articles of Incorporation
J Papers and Proceedings
t
t
i
1907—1908
NUMBER FOUR
I
Bergen County |
Historical Society
' 4 t M » ♦ ♦ H t » t M » * m M M 4 I > M t t t t M M M M « I t T
Papers and Proceedings
OF
The Bergen County Historical Society
1907-1908
NUMBER FOUR
Secretary's Report. 1907-1908. . .FRANCIS C. KoEHLER
Slavery in Bergen County, N. J.,
William Alexander Linn
The Liberty Pole Tavern .... Nelson K. VandeRBEEK
Some of Closter's Old Time History .... MaRY NaUGLE
Scraps from My Note Book T. N. GloveR
The Edsall Papers Dr. Byron G. Van Horne
The Old Pohfly Road BuRTON H. Allbee
The Church at English Neighbourhood,
Dr. B. F. Underwood
Necrology T. N. Glover
Gifft
increased so that to-night it numbers one hundred and fifty-
two, thirty-five of the names having been added during the
past year. We urge all who are interested in their local
history to ally themselves with the Society and co-operate
in the work of securing all available historical data and inci-
dentally, by the payment of the annual dues, assist in the dis-
charge of the financial obligations. As has been stated
previously one of our purposes is to mark with suitable tab-
lets the specially historical sites in our county.
Only by united efforts can the best results be obtained,
and, as has often been demonstrated, we will find that our
County of Bergen is a rich historical field.
Byron G. Van Horne,
President.
Feb. 22. 1908.
I
OFFICERS FOR THE YEAR 1907.
President.
Dr. Byron G. Van Home.
Vice-Presidents.
Isaac D. Bogert, Arthur Van Winkle,
Hon. William M. Johnson, William D. Snow,
Edward Stagg, Everett L. Zabriskie.
Recording and Corresponding Secretary.
Francis C. Koehler.
Treasurer.
Burton H. Allbee.
Historiographer.
T. N. Glover.
Executive Committee.
(In addition to the officers.)
Eugene K. Bird, Cornelius Doremus,
Andrew D. Bogert.
Archive and Property Committee.
Mrs. F. A. Westervelt, Arthur Van Buskirk,
James A. Romeyn.
r
ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION OF BERGEN
COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
This is to certify that we, the undersigned, persons de-
siring to associate ourselves into a corporation pursuant to
an Act of the Legislature of the State of New Jersey, en-
titled "An Act to incorporate associations not for pecuni-
ary profit," approved April 21, 1898, do hereby certify:
First: — That the name or title of the said corporation is
the Bergen County Historical Society.
Second : — That the agent in charge of the principal office
of said corporation, and the person upon whom process may
be served is Burton H. Allbee, at the Office of the Society.
The corporation shall maintain an office in the State of New
Jersey, at Hackensack, in the Johnson Public Library
Building, corner of Main and Camden Streets, where its
business shall be conducted.
Third: — The purpose for which it is formed is the in-
tellectual cultivation and development of its members ; to
make researches into historical facts and collect data relating
thereto; to collect and preser%-e genealogical records, family
traditions and other matters relating to the general work of
the Historical Society; to cultivate a spirit of patnotism,
foster family, state and national pride.
Fourth: — The number of trustees shall be eighteen and
the names of the trustees elected for the first year, are:
WiUiam M. Johnson, Col. W. D. Snow,
Burton H. Allbee, Henry D. Winton,
Cornehus Christie, Ezra T. Sanford,
Theophilus N. Glover, William A. Linn,
Cornelius Doremus, William O. Labagh,
Abram De Baun, Isaac I. Demarest,
Arthur Van Buskirk, Eugene K. Bird,
Dr. Byron G. Van Home, James A. Romeyn,
Da\-id D. Zabnskie, Arthur Johnson.
ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION.
In Witness Whereof, we have hereunto set our hands
and affixed our seals this fifteenth day of February, Nine-
teen Hundred and Seven.
In presence of
Thomas H. Gumming Abram De Baun (L. S.)
as to Abram De Baun, Arthur Van Buskirk (L. S.)
Byron G. Van Home, Byron G. Van Home (L. S.)
David D. Zabriskie, Theophilus N. Glover (L. S.)
Wm. D. Snow, David D. Zabriskie (L. S.)
Cornelius Doremus, W. D. Snow (L. S.)
Wm A. Linn, Henry D. Winton (L. S.)
Isaac I. Demarest, Cornelius Doremus (L. S.)
Eugene K. Bird, WilHam A. Linn (L. S.)
Isabel A. Siddons William O. Labagh (L. S.)
as to Theophilus N. Glover.Isaac I. Demarest (L. S.)
Eugene K. Bird (L. S.)
State of New Jersey, 1
County of Bergen. j
Be it remembered, that on this fifteenth day of February,
the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and seven,
before me, the subscriber, a Commissioner of Deeds in and
for the State of New Jersey, personally appeared Cornelius
Doremus, Abram De Baun, Arthur Van Buskirk, Dr.
Byron G. Van Home, David D. Zabriskie, Col. W. D.
Snow, Henry D. Winton, William A. Linn, William O.
Labagn, Isaac I. Demarest and Eugene K. Bird, who I am
satisfied are the persons mentioned in the within instrument,
to whom I first made known the contents thereof and there-
upon they severally acknowledged that they signed, sealed
and delivered the same as their voluntary act and deed, for
the uses and purposes therein expressed.
Thomas H. Gumming,
A Commissioner of Deeds in and for the State of New
Jersey.
ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION.
State of New York,
City of New York,
County of New York.
Be it remembered, that on this Uventy-first day of Feb-
ruary, in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred
and seven, before me, the subscriber, a Commissioner of
Deeds for the City of New York, personally appeared
Theophilus N. Glover, who I am satisfied is one of the
persons mentioned in the within instrument, to whom I first
made known the contents thereof, and thereupon he ac-
knowledged that he signed, sealed and delivered the same as
his voluntary act and deed, for the uses and purposes therein
expressed. Isabel A. Siddons.
Commissioner of Deeds, City of New York.
State of New York,
County of New York,
I, Peter J. Dooling, Clerk of the County of New York,
and also Clerk of the Supreme Court for the said County,
the same being a Court of Record, do hereby certify, that
Isabel A. Siddons, whose name is subscribed to the certifi-
cate of the proof or acknowledgement of the annexed instru-
ment, and thereon written, was at the time of taking such
proof or acknowledgement, a Commissioner of Deeds, in
and for the City of New York, duly commissioned and
sworn, and authorized by the laws of said State to take the
acknowledgements and proofs of deeds of conveyances for
land, tenements or hereditaments in said State of New York.
And further, that I am well acquainted with the hand-
writing of such Commissioner of Deeds, and verily believe
that the signature to said certificate of proof or acknowl-
edgement is genuine.
In Testimony Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and
affixed the seal of the said Court and County, the 19th
day of March, 1907.
(Seal) Peter J. Dooling, Clerk.
Received in the Office and Recorded March 28th, 1907,
at II A. M. John R. Ramsey, Clerk.
CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS.
ARTICLE I.
This Society shall be known as the Bergen County His-
torical Society.
ARTICLE II.
Its object shall be the collection of natural history : papers
incident to the civil, political, military and general history
of Bergen County and adjoining counties in New Jersey
and Rockland County, N. Y. ; genealogical, biographical,
and topographical information, and the diffusion of a sound
historical taste and the encouragement of a patriotic senti-
ment.
ARTICLE III.
The Society shall be made up of resident and corre-
sponding members. Resident members shall be persons
residing in Bergen County; corresponding members those
residing elsewhere ; and both classes shall be chosen by open
nomination and election at any regular or special meeting
by the Society or by the Executive Committee at any meet-
ing thereof. If a ballot be demanded, a majority of votes
cast shall be necessary to a choice. Any corresponding
member may become a resident member upon filing with the
Secretary a written request therefor.
ARTICLE IV.
The Society shall hold the annual meeting in February
on the anniversary of the birth of Washington, at which a
general election of officers by ballot shall be had wherein
a majority of the votes cast shall constitute a choice; and
immediately thereafter proceed to some suitable place and
dine together. The place for holding the annual meeting
shall be designated at the preceding meeting. Special meet-
ings may be called at any time by the President, and at
all meetings nine members shall be a quorum for the trans-
action of business.
12 CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS.
ARTICLE V.
Each resident member shall pay on or before the twenty-
second day of February two dollars each year, or in satis-
faction thereof a Hfe membership fee of twenty dollars; and
resident members in arrears for dues two years or more, after
notice in writing from the Treasurer, shall cease to be
members.
ARTICLE VI.
The ofTicers of the Society shall be a President, at least
four Vice-Presidents, Corresponding Secretary, Recording
Secretary, Treasurer. These oilicers, together with four
members, shall compose the Executive Committee. All shall
be chosen by ballot and hold their ofnces one year and
until successors be chosen. In case of a vacancy it may be
filled by the Executive Committee.
ARTICLE VII.
The President, or in his absence a Vice-President, or
in their absence, a chairman shall preside and have the cast-
ing vote. He shall preserve order, decide all questions of
order, subject to an appeal to the Society, and appoint all
committees unless otherwise ordered.
ARTICLE VIII.
The Recording Secretary shall keep minutes and rec-
ords of the Society, make and furnish certificates of mem-
bership, and have the custody of papers and documents
deposited with the Society, subject to the authority and
oversight of the Executive Committee, and discharge such
other duties as may be required of him by the Society or
the Executive Committee, and shall make a report of the
transactions of the Society at the annual meeting, and the
Corresponding Secretary shall conduct such correspondence
as may be entrusted especially to him by the Society or
the Executive Committee.
CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS. 13
ARTICLE IX.
The Treasurer shall collect, receive, keep and pay out
such funds as may come to the Society, subject to the con-
trol of the Executive Committee, keep an account of the
receipts and disbursements, rendering a statement thereof
to the annual meeting, and shall give a bond with approved
security for the faithful performance of his duty.
ARTICLE X.
The Executive Committee are charged with the duty of
soliciting and receiving donations for the Society, to rec-
ommend plans for promoting its objects, to digest and pre-
pare business, to authorize the disbursement of the Society's
funds, and generally to superintend and guard the interests
of the Society. At all meetings of the Executive Committee
five members shall be a quorum. The Executive Committee
shall be convened by notice from the Recording Secretary.
ARTICLE XI.
In case of the dissolution of the Society, its books, papers
and collections of every sort shall belong to and be delivered
to the Johnson Free Public Library of Hackensack for the
use and benefit of that association, if not contrary to the stip-
ulation of the donor.
ARTICLE XII.
At the regular meeting of the Society the following order
of busmess shall be observed:
1 . Reading minutes of previous meeting.
2. Reports and communication from officers.
3. Reports of Executive and other committees.
4. Nomination and election of members.
5. Miscellaneous business.
6. Papers read and addresses delivered.
ARTICLE XIII.
Alterations or amendments may be made by the Society
or by the Executive Committee on a two-thirds vote of the
members present, provided that notice of the proposed alter-
ation or amendment shall have been given at a previous
meeting.
ROLL OF MEMBERSHIP.
Honorary.
Nelson, Hon. William Paterson
Sanford, Rev. E. T West H th St.. New York
Life Members.
Allison, William O Englewood
Cameron, Alpin J Ridgewood
Christie, Cornelius Leonia
Green, Allister I East 61st St., New York
Zabriskie, Capt. A. C 52 Beaver St., New York
Annual Members.
Abbott, J. C Fort Lee
Ackerman, David B Closter
Adams, Dr. C. F Hackensack
Allbee, Burton H Hackensack
Banta, Irving W Hackensack
Bennett, H. N Hackensack
Best, L. C Ridgefield
Bird, E. K Hackensack
Birtwhistle, Hezekiah Englewood
Bogart, Peter, Jr Bogota
Bogert, A. D Englewood
Bogert, A. Z River Edge
Bogert, Cornelius V. R Bogota
Bogert, Daniel G Englewood
Bogert, I. D Westwood
Bogert, John Hohokus
Bogert, Matthew, J Demarest
Brenden, Charles Oakland
BrinkerhofF, A. H Rutherford
Brohel, Joseph A River Edge
Cane, Fred. W Bogota
16 ROLL OF MEMBERSHIP.
Colver. Frederick L Tenafly
Connelly. Charles Hughes Englewood
Cooper, R. W New Milford
Corsa, George Ridgewood
Crum, FredH River Edge
Currie, Dr. D. A Englewood
Dalrymple. C. M., Ph. D Hackensack
De Baun, Abram Hackensack
Delernater, P. G Ridgewood
Demarest, A. S. D Hackensack
Demarest, I. I Hackensack
Demarest, Jacob R Englewood
Demarest, Milton Hackensack
Derby, Warren E Englewood
Dixon, Charles R Closter
Doremus, Cornelius Ridgewood
Dutton, George R Englewood
Easton, E. D Areola
Edsall, J. G Pahsades Park
Edsall, S. S Palisades Park
Ely, William North Hackensack
Engelke. A. L Englewood
Engelke, Mrs. A. L Englewood
Fairley. Rev. J. A Hackensack
Fitch, Porter Englewood
Ford, F. R 24 Broad St., New York
Fornachon, Maurice Ridgewood
Glover, T. N Rutherford
Goetschius, Howard B Dumont
Grunow, JuHus S Hackensack
Hales, Henry Ridgewood
Harding, Harry B Hackensack
Haring, Teunis A Hackensack
Heck, John Westwood
Holdenby, Dr. H. S Englewood
Holdrum, A. C Westwood
Holley, Rev. WiHiam Wells Hackensack
Hunter, John M Englewood
ROLL OF MEMBERSHIP. 17
Jacobus, Martin R Ridgefield
Jeffers, Daniel G Hackensack
Jeffers, Mrs. Daniel G Hackensack
Johnson, Rev. Arthur Hackensack
Johnson, James A. C Englewood
Johnson, William M Hackensack
Koehler, Francis C North Hackensack
Kuebler, Rev. C. R Hackensack
Ladd, Rev. Henry M Rutherford
Lamb, C. R 23 Sixth Ave., New York
Liddle, Joseph G 128 Bowery, New York
Lincoln, J. C Hackensack
Linn, W. A Hackensack
Livingston, Alexander, Jr Englewood
Lord, Lewis P Hackensack
Lyle, George W Hackensack
Lyle, Mrs. George W Hackensack
Mabie, Clarence Hackensack
Mabon, J. S Hackensack
Meyer, Francis E Closter
Miller, Lansing A Englewood
Nostrand, Foster Closter
Perry, George H Hackensack
Pearsall, J. W Ridgewood
Phillips, Miss Helen Ridgewood
Phillips, Miss Imogene Ridgewood
Piatt, Dan Fellows Englewood
Poppen, Rev. Jacob Wortendyke
Prosser, Miss Harriet Englewood
Ramsey, J. R Hackensack
Richardson, Milton T Ridgewood
Riley, John H Hillsdale
Rogers, Henry M Tenafly
Romaine, C Hackensack
Romeyn, James A , Hackensack
Sage, L. H Hackensack
Selph, William E Englewood
Schermerhorn, George T Rutherford
18 ROLL OF MEMBERSHIP.
Seufert, Charles G Leonia
Seufert, William M Englewood
Sewall, H. D Maywood
Sheridan, E. J Englewood
Smith, J. Spencer Tenafly
Smith, W. Robert Tenafly
Snow, W. D Hackensack
Speck, Frank G Hackensack
Stagg, Edward D Leonia
St. John, Dr. David Hackensack
Talmage, Rev. D. M Westwood
Talmage, David Leonia
Taylor, Ira Westwood
Taylor, Mrs. Ira Westwood
Terhune, P. Christie Hackensack
Terhune, Mrs. P. Christie Hackensack
Tierney, WiUiam, Jr Englewood
Tillotson, Joseph H Englewood
Tyndall, William De Mott. . . 141 Broadway, New York
Underwood, Dr. B. F Ridgefield
Van Buskirk, Arthur Hackensack
Vanderbeek, Nelson K Englewood
Vanderwart, Rev. Herman Hackensack
Van Emburgh, Dr. Walter Ridgewood
Van Home, Dr. Byron G Englewood
Van Neste, Rev. J. A Ridgewood
Van Wagoner, Jacob Ridgewood
Van Winkle, A. W Rutherford
Van Winkle, Frank O Ridgewood
Voorhis, Rev. J. C Monsey, N. Y.
Vreeland, Jacob H East Rutherford
Vroom, Rev. W. H Ridgewood
Wakelee, Edmund W Demaresl
Wakelee, Justus I Englewood
Walden, E. B Hackensack
Ward, Rev. Henry Closter
Wells, Benjamin G Hackensack
Westervelt, Mrs. F. A Hackensack
ROLL OF MEMBERSHIP. 19
Wheeler, G. W Hackensack
Whitbeck, C. V. H Hackensack
Willis. A. C Tenafly
Winton, H. D Hackensack
Wood, Robert J. G Leonia
Wright, Wendell J Demarest
Young, Dr. F. A 190 Wadsworth Ave., New York
Zabriskie, Hon. David D Ridgewood
Zabriskie, Everett L Ridgewood
Zabriskie, W. H Hackensack
Honorary Members 2
Life Members 5
Annual Members 145
Total 152
SECRETARY'S ANNUAL REPORT.
By Francis C. Koehler.
February 22. 1908.
A secretary's report is usually dry reading, and the report
at hand contains no greater entertainment than those on file.
It is but a summary of what the workers are doing, yet the
summary is worth readmg, in that it shows that the Society
IS thoroughly alive and doing splendid work.
The annual meeting was held on February 22d, 1907,
at the Elks' Home, in Hackensack. The report of the
various committees were received and after the transaction
of routine business, election of new members and officers
for the ensuing year, the members and their guests assem-
bled in the banquet hall, where the Fifth Annual Dinner
was spread.
The following papers were read:
"Our Society," Burton H. Allbee.
"The Past Year," Byron G. Van Home.
"Five Minutes with the Committees."
"A Page from My Records," T. N. Glover.
"The Value of the Historic Spirit," James A. Fairley.
" The Bergen County Bar," CorneHus Doremus.
Since the last annual meeting the Society has been in-
corporated, and the corporation can now hold title to real
as well as personal property.
During the year a number of well-attended meetings have
been held throughout the county, at which addresses were
made by President Van Home, Mr. T. N. Glover and
Mr. Allbee. Some of these meetings, to wit: the meetings
at Grantwood, Leonia and River Edge, were given for the
purpose of hearing Mr. Albee lecture and exhibit his pic-
tures, to which many new and interesting ones have been
added. Yet the great interest shown by Mr. AUbee's
auditors in the history of Bergen County clearly demon-
strated that the people are in sympathy with the work of
22 SECRETARY'S ANNUAL REPORT.
the Society. The other meetings held at Closter and Ridge-
field were held under the auspices of the Society, and the
same enthusiasm and interest were manifested.
The increased demands for the last number of our annual
necessitated the publication of a second edition. These rec-
ords of our Society have gone abroad in large numbers,
and the many requests from sister societies and public in-
stitutions for copies of same show that they are welcome
guests in the archives of these institutions.
Mr. Allbee's pictures of historic sites and buildings have
also been in great demand. Complete sets of these pic-
tures have been acquired by the New Jersey State Histor-
ical Society for permanent exhibition in its library at New-
ark ; by the Colonial Dames of New Jersey ; by the Holland
Dames of New York, and by the Daughters of the Amer-
ican Revolution for exhibition at the Jamestown Fair,
Mr. T. N. Glover's efforts have been untiring, and as
historiographer he has added much new and valuable ma-
terial to his records.
Mrs. F. A. Westervelt has continued her earnest work
in Genealogical research, and has collected much material.
She has made up a scrap-book which contains matters of
great interest and value to the Society.
Thirty-three new members have been added to the roll
of the Society and two resignations have been accepted.
The Society has suffered the loss of five members by
death: Mr. E. A. Clark, Mr. P. O. Terhune, Mr. Will-
iam Shanks, Mr. W. O. Labagh, and Capt. A. A. Folsom.
The sudden death of Mr. Labagh was a great shock
to his many friends. Suitable resolutions were drawn by
the Society and presented to his bereaved widow and family.
The short tenure in office of your Secretary has been
long enough to deeply impress him with the fact that the
various committees of the Society have done and are doing
a vast deal of work with a spirit of patriotism and enthusi-
asm that can result only in further success.
SLAVERY IN BERGEN COUNTY, N. J.
By William Alexander Linn.
The history of Bergen County, as set forth in the papers
of the Bergen County Historical Society, would not be com-
plete without some account of the institution of slavery as it
existed within our boundaries. The subject comes pecu-
liarly within the scope of Bergen County historical research
because our county was the largest slave-holding county in
the State, and because here some of the severities of the
laws, as applied to negro slaves, found their most vivid
illustrations.
Slavery was a recognized institution in this State from the
time of its first settlement by whites. "Hollanders on the Hud-
son," Lee tells us* "and the Sweeds on the Delaware
brought to the shores of those rivers blacks from the West
coast of Africa, and enslaved numbers of various tribes of
the great Algonquin nation."
When the Duke of York transferred the territory to Sir
George Carteret and Lord Berkeley, these Lords Proprie-
tors, in I 664, granted to every early colonist who went over
the sea 75 acres of land for every slave he took with him,
and by the year I 690 it is thought that nearly all the white
inhabitants of the northern part of the State were slave-
owners.
Queen Ann's instructions to Lord Cornbury recommended
to his notice the Royal African Company, deahng in slaves,
saying: "And whereas we are willing to recommend unto
said company that the said province may have a constant
and suilicient supply of merchantable negroes, at moderate
rates, in money or commodities, so you are to take especial
care that payment be duly made, and within competent times,
according to agreement," and to report yearly the number of
negroes so supplied, and at what price.
* Lee's "New Jersey as a Colony and a State." Vol. IV.,
P. 27.
24
SLAVERY IN BERGEN COUNTY, N. J.
At certain times we find imported slaves subject to a duty
(in 1714 of £10), in order that white labor might be at-
tracted for the more rapid settling of the country. Then
free trade was established, for one period of fifty years,
dating from 1 72 1 . In 1 744 an act forbidding the importa-
tion of slaves was defeated by the Provincial Council, on the
ground that the need of laborers could be met in no other
way. The duty was restored in I 767.
We have no very accurate statistics of the number of
negroes brought into the State from Africa. If Lord Corn-
bury made reports, as requested by Queen Ann, they lie un-
published. A custom house report in 1 726 said that there
were no imports from 1 698 to 1717, and only 1 00 from
1718 to 1726. But Gordon's Gazetteer says that there
were 4,000 negroes in New Jersey in 1 737. By 1 745 the
number was placed at 4,600, and in 1 776 it was said that
only one family in Perth Amboy was served by free white
domestics.
But public feeling, perhaps incited first by the Quakers,
was becoming aroused on the subject of the slave trade, and
in 1 786 an act was passed by the Assembly declaring that
"the principles of justice and humanity require that the bar-
barous custom of bringing the unoffending Africans from
their native country and connections into a state of slavery"
should be discountenanced, and imposing a fine of £50 for
bringing into New Jersey slaves imported since 1 776, and
a fine of £20 for introducing any others who had been im-
ported. Two years later, in response to petitions, a sup-
plementary act was passed which made subject to forfeiture
vessels, with their cargoes, fitted out for slavers, and pro-
vided that no slave, resident of the State foi a year, could
be removed without his or her parents' consent.
The principal ports of entry for imported slaves were
Perth Amboy and what is now Camden. In Lord Corn-
bury's day there were barracks at Perth Amboy, in which
blacks newly arrived from Africa were held until sold. The
early Philadelphia newspapers supply advertisements of car-
goes of slaves brought direct to Camden. The Penmyl-
SLAVERY IN BERGEN COUNTY, N. J. 25
vania Journal of May 27, 1762, contains an advertisement
of W. Coxe, S. Oldman & Co., who announce: "Just im-
ported from the river Gambia . . . and to be sold at
the Upper Ferry (called Benjamin Cooper's Ferry) — now
Camden — opposite this city, a Parcel of likely Men and
Women slaves with some boys and girls of Different Ages."
A note added that "it is generally allowed that the Gambia
slaves are much more robust and tractable than any other
slaves from the coast of Guinea, and more capable of un-
dergoing the severity of the winter seasons in the North
American colonies."
The same newspaper, of August 19, 1 762, announces
to be sold at the same place, "A Parcel of choice, healthy,
young slaves, men, women, boys and girls . . . im-
ported from the windward coast of Africa, Being Negroes
from the most established parts of the coast of Africa, for
being good house or plantation slaves.
Indians as Slaves.
I find no definite statement of the origin of the practice
of enslaving Indians in New Jersey. As we have seen, the
early settlers — Hollanders and Sweeds — made slaves of the
native savages. It is natural to assume that the persons so
enslaved were captives taken by the whites either in defend-
ing their settlements from the Indians, or in counter attacks.
While the New Jersey authorities treated the Indians with
more fairness than did the whites of other colonies, obtain-
ing their lands by treaty and purchase, no feeling of mercy
was extended to the savages who from the border attacked
the settlements, and practiced the brutalities which charac-
. terized such warfare. Indeed, the whites retaliated in kind,
scalping the dead and sparing neither age nor sex.
De Vries relates that Gov. Kiept joined forces with the
Indians around Fort Orange (Albany) in an attack on the
Indians to the south, and that in the winter of I 643 troops
crossed over to Pavonia and killed 80 Indians, in a night
attack, butchering the young in the presence of their parents,
fastening sucklings to boards and then cutting them to pieces.
26 SLAVERY IN BERGEN COUNTY, N. J.
while "some were thrown into the river, and when their
parents rushed in to save them, the soldiers prevented their
landing, and let parents and children drown" — this although
the orders were to "spare as much as possible their wives
and children, and take the savages prisoners," perhaps to
be held as slaves.
Gov. William Franklin, in his speech to the Council and
General Assembly in November, 1 763, urged active ag-
gressive operations against the Indians "to surprise them in
their hunting and fishing, destroy their corn fields, bring off
their women and children and burn their habitations," de-
claring that the outrages committed by the Indians "are
such strong instances of their breech of faith, treachery and
inhumanity that they no longer deserve to be considered in
the scale of human beings, or, indeed, upon a level with the
ravenous beasts of the wilderness." Entertaining such views,
it is not difficult to imagine that holding Indian prisoners as
slaves would be considered a mild punishment.
How the Supreme Court of the State regarded such slaves
is set forth in a decision rendered in 1 797, in a case in
which an Indian woman was claimed as a slave, and it was
proved that her mother had been sold as a slave and always
looked upon as one. The Court remanded the woman to
the man who claimed to be her master, laying down this doc-
trine: "They (the Indians) have been so long recognized
as slaves in our law that it would be as great a violation of
the rights of property to establish a contrary doctrine at the
present day as it would be in the case of Africans; and as
useless to investigate the manner in which they originally lost
their freedom." An Indian evidently had very little standing
in that court.
I find no reference to the ownership of an Indian slave
in Bergen county, but in the New York Gazette of Nov.
14, 1763, Isaac Kingsland, Sheriff of Bergen county, ad-
vertised: "Taken up as a runaway at Cecaicos (now Se-
caucus), in the county of Bergen, at the house of Reiner
Vangesen, Esq., an Indian servant lad, aged about 16 or
1 7 years," who said he belonged to a lawyer on Long
SLAVERY IN BERGEN COUNTY, N. J. 27
Island; "whoever comes and proves his property to the afore-
said Indian servant at the Gaol of Hackensack may have
"him again, paying all charges to the High Sheriff of said
County."
The Abolition Movement.
Not only did public opinion in New Jersey express itself
against the African slave trade in the early days, but it also
made itself felt against slavery as a domestic institution. The
dullness of the pubHc conscience on this subject in the first
years of the settlement may be measured, perhaps, by the
fact that Quakers not only owned slaves, but engaged in the
African slave trade, and it required the arguments of a John
Woolman, who labored with his fellow Quakers, north and
south, in behalf of the abolition cause, to rouse the Quakers
as a body to a realization of the evils of slavery. But the
early New Jersey abolitionists were not all Quakers, for we
find that in 1 773 petitions asking for legislation against the
evils of human slavery were presented to the Assembly from
Burlington, Cumberland, Essex, Hunterdon, Middlesex,
and Monmouth Counties, and petitions for the abolition of
slavery were received from Essex and Morris Counties in
1790.
An abolition society was formed in the State in 1 786,
but it was numerically weak, and by 1 804 was said to have
not more than 150 members. The cause slowly gained
strength, however, and in 1804 the Legislature passed a
law making free every child of a slave born after the fourth
of July of that year, but with the provision that such chil-
dren should be servants of the owners of the mothers as if
"bound out," until the age of 25 (male) and 21 (female).
The ov/ner of the slave mother of a child born under this
law was obliged to maintain it for one year; then he could
abandon it to become a township pauper and be bound out.
The pubHc maintenance of such children became so burden-
some that that part of the law was repealed seven years later.
The Constitution of New Jersey adopted in 1 776 con-
tained no Bill of Rights. Such a Bill was incorporated
in the Constitution of I 844, setting forth that "all men are
28 SLAVERY IN BERGEN COUNTY, N. J.
by nature free and independent, and have certain natural
and inalienable rights, among which are those of enjoying
and defending life and liberty." The Massachusetts courts
had held that a similar declaration in the Constitution of
that State abolished slavery ; but the Supreme Court of New
Jersey, which always seemed to interpret for the masters,
held, in 1845, that the declaration in question was "a gen-
eral proposition," and not designed to apply to "man in his
private, individual or domestic capacity . . . or to
interfere with his domestic relations."*
By an act approved April 1 8, 1 846, it was decreed
"That slavery in this State be and is hereby abolished, and
every person who is now holden in slavery by the laws there-
of be, and is hereby made free, subject, however, to the re-
strictions and obligations hereinafter mentioned and im-
posed; and the children hereafter to be born to all such
persons shall be absolutely free from their birth, and dis-
charged of and from all manner of service whatsoever."
The restrictions referred to were defined in the next sec-
tion, which provided that "every such person shall, by force
and virtue of this act, and without previous execution of any
indenture of apprenticeship, or other deed or instrument for
that purpose, become and be an apprentice, bound to service
to his or her present owner, and his or her executors or ad-
ministrators, which service shall continue until such person
is discharged therefrom, as is hereinafter directed."
The master of one of these apprentices who desired to be
"discharged" could give him an instrument setting him free,
on obtaining from the overseers of the poor and two justices
of the peace a certificate setting forth that the apprentice
appeared "to be sound in mind, and not under any incapacity
of obtaining a support." Or the master might give a bond
in a sum of not less than $500 to prevent the freed person
from becoming a public charge.
The children born of such apprentices must be supported
by the master until six years old, when they might be bound
* For a summary of all the laws regarding slavery in
New Jersey see "A Study of Slavery in New Jersey," by Henry
Scofield Cooley ; Johns Hopkins University Studies.
I
SLAVERY IN BERGEN COUNTY, N. J. 29
out. No person could sell any such apprentice except with
the apprentice's consent, and in writing ; and no such sale
could be made to any person not a citizen and resident of
this State, a violation of this last provision being made a mis-
demeanor, as was the sending to sea, or exporting or sending
out of this State, any such apprentice.
It will be seen, therefore, that the abolition law of I 846
substituted lifelong apprenticeship for absolute freedom. A.
Q. Keasby points out* that human slavery ceased in
New Jersey only on the ratification of the Thirteenth Amend-
ment to the Federal Constitution, in 1865, and that if, at
that date, "a negro born of slave parents before July 1 ,
I 804, were still hving in the State and had not been manu-
mitted, he was legally a slave, and became emancipated
only by virtue of that amendment."
The Institution in Bergen County.
The largest number of slaves were held in our coast coun-
ties, from Sandy Hook north, the influence of the Quakers
in opposition in the southern counties growing steadily more
pronounced. As I have said, the largest number held in one
county was in Bergen. The following figures from the
Census Reports show the number of slaves in the State and
in Bergen County in the years named:
New Jersey, Bergen County.
1737 3.981
1790 11,423 2,301
1800 12.422 2,825
1810 10.851 2,180
1820 7,557 1,683
1830 2,554 584
1840 675 222
1850 236* 41
1860 18*
* "Slavery in New Jersey." Proceedings <»f the New Jer-
sey Historical Society. Vol. IV, No. 2, Page 90.
* Apprentices.
30 SLAVERY IN BERGEN COUNTY, N. J.
In this connection it must be remembered that Bergen
County, as originally laid out, comprised what is now Hud-
son County and more than one-half of Passaic. Passaic
County was set off in I 830 and Hudson County in 1 842.
The money value of slaves in New Jersey never reached
the figures that prevailed in the Southern States in the years
preceding the War of the Rebellion. It was the invention
of the cotton gin, and the resultant increased value of the
cotton crop, that fastened human slavery on the Southern
States, and so enhanced the value of negro slaves. From
manuscript bills of sale I take the following prices:
In 1 794 Necanje Voor Hesen, of Hackensack, sold to
David Peter Demarest, of Hackensack, "one negro man
nam.ed Tom, aged about 33 years," for £95 current lawful
money of New York.
In 1 80 i T. Cornelius Van Horn, of Harrington Town-
ship, sold to David Demarest "a negro whinch Rose" for
$I35|/2 current money.
In 1 803 Daniel S. Demarest, of Hackensack, sold to
Daniel P. Demarest "a negro man or male slave named
Tom, between 1 8 and 1 9 years old, of a yellow com-
plexion" for $262.50.
In 1833 John J. Van Buskirk, of Hackensack, sold to
Henry J. Brinkerhoff "a negro man named Jack, aged about
39 years," for $200 current money.
The following is a copy of one of these bills of sale, all
of which followed practically the same form:
"Know all men of these presents that I John J. Van
Buskirk of the township of Hackensack County of Bergen
and State of New Jersey, for and in consideration of the
sum of two hundred Dollars Current money, to me in hand
paid by Henry J. Brinkerhoff of the same place as above
said, the Receipt whereof I do hereby acknowledge myself
to be therewith fully satisfied and paid have granted sold
and released and by these presents do fully clearly and ab-
solutely grant Bargain sell and Release unto the said Henry
J Brinkerhoff A Certain Negro man Named Jack, he was
Born the Fifteenth Day of April in the year I 794 Aged
SLAVERY IN BERGEN COUNTY, N. J. 31
about thirty nine years to have and to hold the said Negro
man unto the said Henry J. Brinkerhoff his Executors Ad-
ministrators and assigns for ever and I the said John J.
Van Buskirk for myself my heirs Executors Administrators
and assigns will warrant and forever defend the sale of the
said Negro man by these presents in Witness whereof I have
hereunto set my hand and seal this sixth Day of June In
the year of our Lord one thousand Eight Hundred and
Thirty Three.
"John J. Van Buskirk.
"Sealed and DeHvered
in the presents of
"John Van Buskirk."
This slave was a skilled carpenter.
As most of the slaves were direct importations from
Africa, or recent descendants of such natives, it can easily
be understood that they had to be kept under strict subjec-
tion. As a check on thieving all traffic with slaves was for-
bidden, and if a slave, without his master's permission,
offered an article for sale, the person to whom it was offered
was required to whip him, which service entitled the admin-
istrator of the punishment to a reward of half a crown, to
be paid by the owner. A slave, convicted on his own con-
fession of stealing, was, in 1 769, whipped at the public
whipping-post in Hackensack and before the houses of two
citizens on each of three days, receiving thirty-nine lashes
each day, and being led from place to place tied to a cart's
tail. Slaves were forbidden to own or carry a gun or pistol,
or to take a dog with them into the woods or fields. The
seUing of liquor to a slave made the offender subject to a
fine of £5. Slaves were required to be at home by nine (or
later ten) o'clock at night. A misdemeanor or disorderly
behavior — which included stubbornness, disobedience or
rudeness — rendered the offender liable to commitment to fhe
workhouse or to corporal punishment.
32 slavery in bergen county, n. j.
Runaways and Free Negroes.
There was constant trouble because of runaway slaves,
and the newspapers of the day almost always contained ad-
vertisements offering rewards for the return of such fugitives.
So many escaped to the Indians that in 1 682 a conference
was sought with the sachems to devise means against such
harboring. Later it was provided that a slave from another
province travelling in New Jersey without a license might
be whipped.
Later still, under State laws, the most stringent restrictions
were placed on free negroes. By a law of 1 786 no free
negroes from other States were allowed to travel in New
Jersey, and a person employing or harboring such a negro
was liable to a fine of £5 a week. Within the State free
negroes could not travel beyond their own county without a
certificate, and as late as 1826 the Court of Errors and Ap-
peals held that all blacks who could not prove that they
were free should be regarded as slaves. In I 836, in a case
involving the ownership of a negro who claimed his freedom,
Ryerson, J., in the Supreme Court, writing the opinion, said:
"It was once the doctrine of this court that every colored
person was presumed a slave till the contrary was shown.
Although, in the Oyer and Terminer, I have more than once
expressed an opinion that this presumption ought no longer
to be admitted, both from the notorious fact that the gener-
ality of persons of this description in this State are not in
truth held as slaves now, as well as from the natural conse-
quence which must be supposed to follow our statute for the
gradual abolition of slavery, yet it would by no means fol-
low that a person in the actual possession of such a colored
man would not be affected by an implied warranty."
Anything that looked like assisting the flight of a slave
was severely punished. When, in 1 8 1 8, a slave escaped by
mingling with the crowd on a ferry boat running from Eliza-
bethtown to New York his owner recovered for the loss in
a suit against the owner of the ferry boat. On the other
hand, special pains were taken to secure the arrest and re-
turn of slaves escaping from other States.
slavery in bergen county, n. j. 33
Manumission.
Free negroes were regarded in New Jersey in the eigh-
teenth century as "an idle, slothful people" (quoting a stat-
ute of 1714) and careful provision was made against the
turning out upon the community of such persons by any
masters who desired to set their negroes free. A law of
1714 required that the owner of any freed negro must give a
bond of £200 to secure to the freedman an annuity of £20.
Efforts to modify this law were unavailing until 1 786,*
when a new law provided that slaves between 21 and 35
years old, sound in mind and body, might be emancipated
without giving security, on procuring from two overseers of
the poor and two justices of the peace a certificate setting
forth that the requirements as to age and health were met.
The following is a copy of a paper manumitting a slave
named Tobe, executed in 1 832 :
"State of New Jersey.
Bergen County.
"To all to whom these Presence shall come Greeting:
"It is hereby made known that on this eleventh day of
August in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred
and thirty-two, I Jacob Van Wagoner of the Township of
New Barbadoes in the said county of Bergen Farmer, lib-
erated manumitted and set free my negro slave Called Tobe
of the age of thirty years or thereabouts, and I do hereby
manumit and set free, my said negro slave, and discharge
him from all service and demand of service to be hereafter
made, either by me or any person claiming by, from or under
me. In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and
seal, the day and year aforesaid.
"Sealed and delivered ^ John Cooper
in presence of us. ^ David I. Christie.
Jacob Van Wagoner. (Seal.)
(Acknowledgement follows. )
• The Supreme Court of the State in 1776 refused to re-
mand to slavery the child of a manumitted slave who was
claimed by the daughter of the master who freed the child's
father, on the ground that the master has not given the securltj
required by law.
34
SLAVERY IN BERGEN COUNTY, N. J.
"State of New Jersey. Bergen County, to wit:
"We do hereby certify that on this eleventh day of
August in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred
and thirty two, Jacob Van Wagoner of the Township of
New Barbadoes in the County of Bergen brought before
us two of the overseers of the said Township and two of the
Justices of the peace of the said County, his slave named
Tobe, who on view and examination appears to us to be
sound in mind and not under any bodily incapacity of ob-
taining a support, and also is not under the age of twenty
one years, nor above the age of forty years.
"In witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands, the
day and year above written.
John Zabriskie.
Rowland Hill
David I. Christie.
John Cooper.
Overseers of the Poor.
Justices of the Peace."
Tobe met a colored widow known as Ice in Hackensack
at a training in 1837, and married her. Both of them
worked for and lived with Henry Brinkerhoff at English
Neighborhood for a few years. Then they moved to Fort
Lee, where Tobe worked at different pursuits and Ice took
in washing. Tobe became intemperate, and in 1 882 both
he and his wife were taken to the poor house, where Tobe
died in 1 883 and Ice in 1 886. They had expressed a wish
to be buried near Fort Lee, and Mr. John S. Watkins had
the bodies moved to the Edgewater cemetery, and a stone
put up to mark the graves. Tobe and his wife are said to
have been the last of the Bergen county slaves.
Burning at the Stake.
Nothing connected with slavery in Bergen County is more
abhorrent to modern ideas than the punishment that in sev-
eral cases was meted out to slave offenders, viz., death by
burning at the stake. We can neither understand why the
law gave permission to inflict such punishment, nor why any
court would order it. We must remember, however, that
SLAVERY IN BERGEN COUNTY, N. J. 35
capital punishment in those days covered crimes that have
long since been removed from the capital class, and that,
with a large body of slaves to be kept in subjection, it was
easier to see the assumed necessity of a terrible example. The
first General Assembly of the State made arson by any per-
son a capital offense at "the mercy of the court."
The law under which convicted slaves could be burned at
the stake in New Jersey (and there were such executions in
New York) was enacted by the General Assembly of the
Province at Perth Amboy in 1713, and the section in ques-
tion was as follows:
"Be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid that all
and every Negro, Indian or other Slave who, after the Pub-
hcation of this Act, shall murder or otherwise kill (unless by
Misadventure or in execution of Justice) or conspire or at-
tempt the Death of any of Her Majestie's Liege People, not
being Slaves, or shall commit any Rape on any of the said
Subjects, or shall wilfully burn any Dwelling House, Barn,
Stable, Outhouse, Stack or Stacks of Corn or Hay, or shall
wilfully Mutilate, Maim or Dismember any of said Subjects,
not being Slaves, as aforesaid, or shall wilfully Murder any
Negro, Indian or Mulatto Slave within this Province, and
thereof be convicted before three or more of Her Majestie's
Justices of the Peace, one whereof being of the Quorum, who
are hereby required and impowered to hear and determine the
same, in conjunction with five of the Principal Freeholders
of the county wherein such Fact shall be committed, without
a Grand Jury, seven of whom agreeing shall give Judgment,
and sign Execution, according to this act, and he, she or they
so offending shall suffer the Pains of Death in such Manner
as the Aggravation or Enormity of their Crimes (in the Judg-
ment of the Justices and Freeholders aforesaid) shall merit
and require."
Four negroes were burned alive under this law in Bergen
County. There is in the County Clerk's office in Hackensack
an old volume bearing on its cover the title "A Book for the
County of Bergen. To the Use of Justices and Freehold-
ers." This book contains the manuscript minutes of the
36 SLAVERY IN BERGEN COUNTY, N. J.
Justices and Freeholders from 1716 to 1 794, and in it
are set forth the evidence against three of the negroes burned
alive, the names of their judges and their sentences.
Other sentences of slaves recorded in these minutes are as
follows :
In October, 1731, a negro, for an assault on a white
woman, was sentenced to receive forty and one lashes on his
bare back, and "to be branded upon his right shoulder with
the letter B."
In December of the same year a negro was hanged for
threatening the life of his master and poisoning a negro be-
longing to Col. Wm. Provost.
In May, 1 744, a negro was hanged for poisoning sev-
eral blacks. In the same month another negro was hanged
for poisoning, or attempting to poison, several persons, white
and black.
The first of the burnings took place in August, 1 735.
The accused was a negro man named Jack, belonging to
Peter Kipp, and the charge against him was "having beaten
said master, and threatened several times to murder him and
his son, and also to burn down his house." The court which
tried him consisted of: WilHam Provoost, Isaac Van Gesen,
John Stagg, Henry Vandalinda and Paulus Van Derbeck,
Justices, and Abraham Varick, Abraham Ackerman, Eg-
bert Ackerman, Lawrence Ackerman and Garret Hopper,
Freeholders.
The witnesses heard were Peter Kipp, Henry Kipp, Isaac
Kipp, and Jacobus Huysman. Peter Kipp, whose testimony
was corroborated by the others, testified as follows :
"Peter Kipp declared upon the Holy Evangelist that he
was going to one of his fields with his negro man Jack, and
on the road he gave the said negro a blow which the said
negro resisted and fought with his master, striking him sev-
eral blows, and afterward taking up an ax threatened to kill
his said master and his son, and then destroy himself, upon
which his said master ran away for assistance and some time
after returned with assistance. They took him and tyed him
and after he was tyed he said that he would in the night
when his master slept sett his house on fire."
SLAVERY IN BERGEN COUNTY. N. J. 37
When the testimony was concluded the prisoner was
taken out, and sentence was pronounced as follows:
"The Justices and Freeholders having taken the matter
into consideration and did give sentence of death upon him
as follcwith: that is to say, that ye said negro Jack shall be
brought from hence to the place from whence he came, and
there to continue until the 1 6 day of this instant August till
ten of the clock of the morning, and then to be burnt until
he is dead at some convenient place on the road between
the Court House and Quacksack."
Mr. George G. Ackerman informs me that Quacksack was
somewhere just west of the New York Cemetery on lower
Hucison street.
As the offense was committed on August 1 3 and the
execution ordered for August 16, it is evident that New
Jersey's reputation for speedy justice was early established.
In May, 1741, two negroes, one belonging to Albert
Van Voor Hezen and one to Derrick Van Horn, were tried
before three Justices and six Freeholders, on a charge of
setting fire to seven barns "in the precinct of Hackensack.'
The testimony was largely of a hearsay character, several
negroes testifying that the accused threatened to "get even"
with their masters, and one white man testifying that he saw-
one of the negroes coming out of his barn, which soon broke
out into flames. The verdict was that the negroes be con-
fined until May 5, between the hours of ten and twelve,
o'clock in the morning, "and then be burnt until they are
dead at a Yellow Point at ye other side of Hackensack
River near the house of Derrick Van Horn." This was
a point south of the present Bogota depot.
These two executions were an outcome of the so-called
"Great Negro Plot" in New York City. Ever since 1712,
when some negroes met in an orchard on Maiden Lane and
organized an attack on whites (for which nineteen were exe-
cuted), there had been apprehensions of a negro rising. In
I 74 1 several fires in the city caused alarm, and when a
proclamation was issued offering a reward and pardon to
any one who would give information about a plot to burn
38 SLAVERY IN BERGEN COUNTY, N. J.
the town, a woman of bad character, under arrest for par-
ticipation in a robbery, told a story of such a plot by
negroes. The result, says Wilson,* was "a panic com-
pounded by fear, rage and suspicion, which has justly been
likened to the witchcraft delusion at Salem Village in
1 692." Fourteen negroes were burned, eighteen hanged,
seventy-one transported and four whites were put to death,
one a priest.
The fourth execution by burning in Bergen County was
inflicted in October, 1 767. A white laborer named Law-
rence Towrs (or Tuers) while lodging in a house in Hack-
ensack belonging to Hendrieck Christian Zabriskie, was
killed, as alleged, by a negro, who knocked out his brains,
and drove a plug of wood into one of his ears. How the
conviction of the negro was secured is thus set forth in an
"attestation" of the Coroner of Bergen County, which was
pubHshed at the time by the A'^ea* York Journal or General
Advertiser, as coming to it from "a gentleman of such credit
as leaves not a doubt of its being genuine":
"On the twenty second day of September, in the Year
of our Lord, 1767; I Johannes Demarest, Coroner of the
County of Bergen and Province of New Jersey, was pres-
ent at a View of the Body of one Nicholas Teurs, then
lying dead, together with the Jury, which I summoned to
inquire of the Death of said Nicholas Teurs. At that
Time a Negro Man, named Harry, belonging to Hendrick
Christians Zabriskie, was suspected of having murdered
the said Tuers, but there was no Proof of il, and the Negro
denied it; I asked him if he was not afraid to touch Tuers?
He said No, he had not hurt him, and immediately came
up to the Corpse then lying in the Coffin; and then Staats
Storms, one of the Jurors, said: T am not afraid of him'
and stroked the dead Man's Face, with his Hand, which
made no Alteration in the dead Person, and (as I did not
put any Faith in any of those Trials) my Back was turned
towards the dead Body, when the Jury ordered the Negro to
touch the dead Man's Face with his Hand, and then I
* "New York, Old and New," Vol. 1, p. 188.
SLAVERY IN BERGEN COUNTY, N. J. 39
heard a Cry in the Room of the People, saying, 'He is the
Man,' and I was desired to come to the dead Body; and
was told that the Negro Harry, had put his Hand on
Tuer's Face, and that the blood immediately ran out at
the Nose of the dead Man Tuers. I saw the Blood on his
Face and ordered the Negro to rub his Hand again on
Tuer's Face, he did so, and immediately the Blood again
ran out of said Tuer's Nose at each Nostril, as well as I
could judge. Whereupon the People all charged him with
being the Murderer, but he denied it for a few Minutes,
and then confessed that he had murdered the said Nicholas
Tuers, by first striking him on the Head with an Ax, and
then driving a Wooden Pin in his Ear; tho' afterward he
said he struck a second Time with his Ax, and then held
him fast till he had done strugghng, when that was done,
he awakened some of the Family and said Tuers was dying
(he believed)."''^
I find no detailed description of any of these executions.
"Yellow journalism," which would have made so much of
such events, was far in the future, and the Journal, which
published the Coroner's attestation, gave only this account of
the execution under date of Oct. 29: "Last Thursday
v/eek the Negro that murdered Teurs was burnt in Hack-
ensack, agreeable to his sentence." Sometimes all the ne-
groes in the neighborhood v/ere compelled to witness such
an execution for its "moral effect."
When a slave was executed under process of law, his
master was paid £30, raised by a tax on the slave owners
of the county, according to the number of their slaves.
It must not be concluded from these lurid pictures that
the slaves of Nev/ Jersey were cruelly treated as a rule. As
early as the days of the Proprietors the laws required them
to be properly clothed and fed, and for inhuman treatment
any one might be fined. A slave born after 1 788 must be
taught to read before reaching the age of 21 years; other-
* Other instances of the infliction on slaves of death by
burning in this State are noted as follows: At Perth Amboy,
in 1730, for murder; in Somerset county, in 1739, for murder
and arson; in the same county, in 1744, for ravishing a child;
near Perth Amboy, in 1741.
40 SLAVERY IN BERGEN COUNTY, N. J.
wise the owner was liable to a fine of £5. That this fine
was more expensive than the instruction is shown by the bill
of one Christopher Logan "to schooling Negro boy Joe.
61 days, $1.39." Slaves were instructed in all trades,
besides being employed as farm and house servants, and
they were often very warmly attached to the families of
their masters. They had their "Christmas Week" of festivi-
ties, and they accompanied the families of their owners to
the "general training" in the early summer, which trainings
were as important events as the county fairs of our day.
More than one story has come to me of the tender care given
to aged negroes who were among the last survivors of the
days of slavery in New Jersey, and many a tear was shed
over the grave of these venerable "aunties" or "uncles" by
the white people whom they had taken care of in their
childhood years.
THE LIBERTY POLE TAVERN.
Prominent in the early history of Bergen County, and
associated with many of the public and social events of the
old "English Neighborhood," was the Liberty Pole Tav-
ern, situated at what is now the junction of Palisade Ave-
nue, Tenafly Road and Lafayette Avenue, Englewood.
The original tavern was on the northeast corner of the
present Palisade Avenue and Tenafly Road, on the site of
the house now owned and occupied by Dr. Valentine Ruch,
Jr., and was undoubtedly one of the earliest buildings erected
in this vicinity, although it is impossible to establish the exact
date of erection. An exhaustive search on my part, with
the kind assistance of several friends who are members of
the Bergen County Historical Society, fails to unearth any
authentic information as to who was the owner of this prop-
erty during the Revolution. It is probable, however, that the
owner was Samuel Campbell, who was born April 7, I 745,
at Schraalenburgh, and is known to have owned this prop-
erty in 1785, from the record in the County Clerk's office
at Hackensack of a mortgage covering this property, given
by Samuel Campbell to John G. Benson, and dated Octo-
ber 24, 1785. Some time between 1785 and 1807 the
property passed into the hands of John Westervelt, but the
deed was apparently not recorded. The next recorded trans-
fer we find is from John Westervelt to Peter Christie, Feb-
ruary 16, 1 807, and the next from Peter Christie to Tunis
Cooper, Dec. 7, 1813. After the purchase by Tunis
Cooper, a large part of the original building was torn down,
and the frame structure forming the main portion of the
present building erected in its place, and other alterations and
repairs were made as time went on. The stone wall forming
part of the present easterly wing is probably all that now re-
mains of the original building. The property remained in
the hands of Tunis Cooper and his heirs for many years, and
came to be known as the Cooper homestead.
42 THE LIBERTY POLE TAVERN.
On January 8th, 1802, Samuel Campbell deeded to
John S. Banta three parcels of land, comprising in all about
sixty-three acres, for a consideration of $4,625, or about
$73.41 per acre. Two years later, March 14th, 1804,
John S. Banta deeded to John Vanderbeek a tract of twenty
acres for a consideration of $1,125, or about $56 per acre.
This latter tract lay directly opposite the site of the original
tavern, and is described as follows: "Beginning at the
middle of the road near the schoolhouse at a corner where
three roads meet, thence along the middle of Tenafly Road
to the turn of the lane N. 43 degrees E., thence along the
turn of the lane to a stake in the line of Aaron Westervelt,
thence westerly along the line of Westervelt 13 C. 25 L.,
then S. 26 degrees 20 minutes W. along land of late Ann
Harris to the middle of the road that leads to Teaneck at
the corner of the small peach orchard, from thence all along
the middle of the said road as it now is to place of begin-
ning." This was a portion of the property purchased by
John S Banta of Samuel Campbell, as mentioned above,
and had a frontage on what is now Lafayette Avenue, de-
scribed as "the road that leads to Teaneck," and Tenafly
Road, which is described as a lane. For the benefit of those
familiar with this locality, would state that, at that time,
and for many years later, a private lane ran in a north-
westerly direction, in the same course as the present Liberty
Road immediately west of the present Kursteiner property
and intersected with Tenafly Road at a point much farther
south than the present Liberty Road, and not far from the
corner of Palisade Avenue. What is now called Palisade
Avenue was then known as a portion of English Neighbor-
hood Road, and stopped abruptly at the corner of Tenafly
Road. At this point, Tenafly Road branched off to the
north and Lafayette Avenue to the southwest, forming the
corner where three roads meet, as described in this deed,
and at the south side of English Neighborhood Road at the
beginning of the present Bennett Road, stood the old school-
house, also mentioned in the description. This schoolhouse,
one of the oldest in Bergen County, was replaced in 1818
THE LIBERTY POLE TAVERN. 43
by a new school building erected by the Liberty Pole School
Union Co., the actual work of construction being done by
Peter Westervelt. Jr., a prominent builder of those days,
who was the father of the late Mrs. John Van Brunt, of
Grand Avenue, Englewood. Many of the older residents of
this locahty, who have since become prominent, as well as
a multitude of others who have lived and died unknown to
fame, received their early training in this old schoolhouse of
the Liberty Pole School Union, which, after many years in
its original location, was torn down and rebuilt at High-
wood, N. J., about a mile above, all the original material
being used, and was occupied as a public school until the
present Highwood school was erected.
Shortly after this purchase, probably the same year, John
Vanderbeek erected a stone house, which was used as a
hotel and known as Liberty Pole Tavern, the original tav-
ern on the opposite corner evidently being discontinued either
at that time or some time previous. This building stood on
the west side of Tenafiy Road directly at the head of Eng-
hsh Neighborhood Road, and was built in the rambling style
of many of the old country houses. John Vanderbeek was
the son of Jacob Vanderbeek and Margrietie Vanderbeek
(nee Berdan) and was born at Schraalenburgh February
26th, I 780. He married Jane Campbell, a daughter of
the Samuel Campbell above mentioned. Through the cour-
tesy of Mrs. Cornelia Whiteman, a niece of this Jane Camp-
bell, who has visited the building a number of times in her
childhood, and who retained a wonderful memory for de-
tails up to the time of her death, only a few weeks ago, we
are enabled to obtain, even at this late date, a fairly good
description of the old tavern, and to draw up floor plans and
elevations giving a fair idea of the interior arrangement and
the exterior appearance, a copy of which will be kept on
file with the records of the Bergen County Historical Society.
The bar room occupied the entire easterly front of the
main building, on the first story, and was entered through a
Dutch door at the level of the outside grade, and also
through a hallway from the north end, which hallway also
44 THE LIBERTY POLE TAVERN.
connected with the rear portion used as a cellar and with a
small rear room used as a bedroom by the proprietor and his
wife. This bedroom and the bar room both connected with
the spacious kitchen which occupied an entire wing at the
South end of building. This kitchen and the good wife who
presided over it were known far and wide for the quantity
and quaHty of the good things which came out of its large
Dutch oven and spacious lire-place to feed the hungry multi-
tudes who gathered at the old tavern from time to time to
celebrate some public or social event. The bar room, with
its sanded floor, beamed ceiling and generous fire-place, had
no terrors for the simple country folks of those days, as it
was usually kept in a quiet and orderly condition, and was
often used on Saturday evenings for the weekly musters,
which were attended by the belles and beaux from all the
surrounding country.
On the second floor, directly over the bar room, was the
parlor or best room of the house. This was used for spin-
ning parties, quilting parties and other afternoon functions
of the ladies. This room was entered on the front from a
balcony which was elevated several feet above the ground
level, and reached by two flights of steps, one at either side.
At the close of an afternoon quilting party, when the quilt
came out of the frame toward evening, it was customary for
one of the young ladies to shake out the quilt from this bal-
cony, ostensibly to dispose of the loose threads and other
odds and ends, but really as a signal to the rustic beaux that
it was time to come in and join in the refreshments and good
time that was sure to follow.
In the year I 835 this building was entirely destroyed by
fire ; and the same year a new frame structure was erected on
practically the same site. This building was of more mod-
ern arrangement, having the first story raised several feet
above grade and laid out with a central hall running through
from front to rear, the bar room being at the southeast cor-
ner of the house with a small bed room in rear, and the par-
lor, dining-room and kitchen at the north side, the kitchen be-
ing in a separate wing at the rear of the main building. This
THE LIBERTY POLE TAVERN. 45
house was a worthy successor of the old tavern and was con-
tinued under the same name until after the Civil War. The
property remained in the hands of John Vanderbeek and
his heirs until July 1 st, I 870. when it was deeded to Henry
Demarest, of New York City, by whom it was subdivided
and subsequently sold.
When Palisade Avenue was continued west from Tenafly
Road it was necessary to move the old tavern building,
which was then removed a short distance south of its orig-
inal location and just west of Lafayette Avenue, where it
remained and was occupied as a private dweUing until a
few months ago. when it was purchased by Mr. Charles
Brucker, who has since removed it to his property south of
Jay Street.
This building and its proprietors were closely associated
with the early development of this section, and are still re-
membered with pleasure by many of the older residents. For
many years the Liberty Pole Tavern was the only voting
place on this side of the county, and always presented a
lively appearance on election days, when famous dinners of
roast pig and other delicacies were served to the voters, who
afterwards indulged in horse racing and other sports to their
hearts' content.
While the Northern Railroad was building, the only
means of regular communication with New York City from
this section was a stage Hne running from Liberty Pole Tav-
ern to Hoboken. The stage left Liberty Pole daily except
Sunday at seven in the morning, arriving at Hoboken three
hours later ; and, returning, left Hoboken at four o'clock and
arrived at Liberty Pole at seven in the evening. Prior to
this, when the people of this section wished to travel to New
York by stage, they were obliged to drive or walk to John
Myers' hotel, at Leonia, and there take the stage line running
from Hackensack to Hoboken.
While the Northern Railroad was building, the old tav-
ern was a favorite rendezvous for the engineers and others
engaged in the work, and was also a popular meeting place
46 THE LIBERTY POLE TAVERN.
for the men who were prominent in the early development of
Lnglewood as a town.
The name "Liberty Pole" was applied to this portion of
English Neighborhood, during the Revolution, with an easy
familiarity which would seem to indicate that the locaHty
had been widely known by that name for some time previ-
ous; but there seems to be no means of ascertaining just how
long the term had been in use or what was its original sig-
nificance.
Bergen County, at the time of the Revolution, comprised
all the land between the Hudson and Passaic Rivers, the
New York State line and Constable's Hook. The main
public road led from the Hudson River at or near Wee-
hawken north through the "Bergen Woods" and English
Neighborhood to Liberty Pole; and then continued across
country to New Bridge; and was the only direct communi-
cation with Hackensack, Totowa (now Paterson) and
points farther west.
We are all aware of how the tide of war rolled back
and forth over New Jersey ; and, as Bergen County was the
natural gateway from New York City, we can readily ap-
preciate the stirring events which must have occurred from
time to time. Liberty Pole, being on the direct line of
travel, and apparently a conspicuous landmark, is men-
tioned in many of the old manuscripts and letters of those
days ; and was frequently made a point of rendezvous by
officers both of the American and British armies.
In a history of Bergen and Passaic Counties, by W.
Woodford Clayton, we read that General Greene, on the
occasion of his evacuation of Fort Lee in November, I 776,
after despatching a messenger by way of Little Ferry to
Washington, who was at Hackensack, proceeded with the
main body of his troops up through English Neighborhood to
Liberty Pole, and thence over the road to New Bridge.
Again, from the same source, we learn that one division of
Cornwallis' army was stationed at Liberty Pole and marched
from there to take part in the massacre of Col. Bayler's
troop near Old Tappan, September 27, I 778. In the same
THE LIBERTY POLE TAVERN. 47
book we read that the region about English Neighborhood
was the scene of many raids from the block-house at Bull's
Ferry, often instigated by a tory named John Berry, who
was a terror to the entire neighborhood, and was known by
the nickname of "John the regular." Like the orthodox
villain, John at last fell a victim of his own greed, and was
mortally wounded during one of these raids in a skirmish
near Liberty Pole.
Another incident of note was the expedition of General
Anthony Wayne, July 20th and 2 1 st, I 780, having for
its object the collection of any cattle in this vicinity, partic-
ularly on Bergen Neck, which were in danger of falhng
into the hands of the British, and also the demolishing of
the Blockhouse at Bull's Ferry, which had long been a
thorn in the flesh of the American commanders.
Wayne left his camp at Totawa about three o'clock on
the afternoon of the 20th, and arrived with his troops at
New Bridge about nine that evening. Here they rested a
few hours and proceeded on their march at one o'clock in
the morning and arrived at Liberty Pole at six o'clock the
morning of the 2 1 st. They probably halted at Liberty
Pole for a short rest, and then proceeded on the march
to Bull's Ferry, where the main body arrived about ten
o'clock.
General Wayne made very elaborate preparations for
this expedition, in order to guard against a surprise by the
British, who were stationed just across the Hudson, their
position extending from New York City north to Yonkers.
His orders, which were very explicit, mention Liberty Pole
in several instances with an easy familiarity, showing that
the locality was well known both to officers and men.
Major Andre, in his sarcastic poem called "The Cow
Chase," describing this expedition in a humorous vein, re-
fers to Liberty Pole in the following stanzas:
"At six the host, with sweating buff.
Arrived at Freedom's Pole:
When Wayne, who thought he'd time enough,
Thus speechified the whole:
48 THE LIBERTY POLE TAVERN.
*Oh, ye, whom glory doth unite.
Who Freedom's cause espouse;
Whether the wing that's doomed to fight.
Or that to drive the cows —
Ere yet you tempt your further way,
Or into action come;
Hear, soldiers, what I have to say.
And take a pint of rum.' "
From the above, it would appear that the term "Liberty
Pole" was applied to some point on the English Neighbor-
hood Road where a flag-pole had been erected and called
the "Liberty Pole," undoubtedly the site of the Liberty
Pole Tavern; and the existence of the tavern is plainly
indicated by the jocund reference to "a pint of rum."
While we are somewhat at sea as to the exact location
and history of this original pole, we know that a more re-
cent Liberty Pole, bearing a liberty cap at its top, was
erected near the spot now marked by the flag-pole erected
by Liberty Pole Chapter, Daughters of the Revolution.
This second Liberty Pole was erected in 1 828 to com-
memorate Andrew Jackson's election as President; and, in
honor of "Old Hickory" a bushel of hickory nuts was
thrown into the excavation around the foot of the pole. This
pole stood so close to the original building erected by John
Vanderbeek that it was somewhat damaged by the fire
which destroyed the building in 1835, but was afterward
repaired and stood for many years thereafter. It is re-
membered by many persons now living.
There has been considerable discussion as to whether the
Liberty Pole Tavern was ever used as a headquarters by
General Washington. In Baker's Itinerary of General
Washington, on file at the Lenox Library, New York City,
we find a foot-note at the bottom of page 1 86 stating that
Washington had his headquarters at Liberty Pole Tavern
August 23d, 1 780. Have been unable to find any other
authority in support of this statement, but did find a book
THE LIBERTY POLE TAVERN. 49
entitled "Correspondence of the New Jersey Executive,
1776 to 1786," now in the possession of Mr. F. W. Van
Brunt, of Englewood, copies of two letters written by Gen-
eral Washington August 26th and 27th, 1 780. and dated
"Headquarters near Liberty Pole." The text of one of
these letters is as follows:
FROM GENERAL WASHINGTON TO
GOVERNOR LIVINGSTON.
Headquarters, near Liberty Pole,
Bergen County, Aug. 26th, 1780.
Dear Sir:
In mine of the 20th instant I desired your Excellency
to discharge the whole of Col. Seely's miHtia except about
one hundred men for the purpose of a guard at Morris-
town, and to direct the September class to hold themselves
in readiness to come out upon the shortest notice. I would
only wish you to continue these orders, but not to call out
the classes except about one hundred men for the purpose
above mentioned, until you hear from me.
Our extreme distress for want of provision makes me de-
sirous of lessening the consumption as much as possible.
Some brigades of the army have been five days without
meat. To endeavor to relieve their wants by stripping the
lower parts of the county of its cattle, I moved two days
ago to this place, and yesterday completely foraged Barba-
does and Bergen Necks. Scarcely any cattle were found
but milch cows and calves of one and two years old, and
even these in no great plenty. When this scanty pittance
is consumed, I know not to what quarter to look, as our
prospects from the eastward, upon which our principal de-
pendence is placed, are far from being favorable.
The monthly requisition of meat from the State of Jersey
has been complied with in a very small degree, as the com-
manding general informs me that he has received but seveo
cattle from Mr. Dunham, the Superintendent, since the
month of April. I am very far from complaining of the
general exertions of the State; on the contrary, I have every
50 THE LIBERTY POLE TAVERN.
reason to acknowledge them upon several pressing occasions;
but your Excellency must be sensible that when the support
of an army is made to depend upon certain quantities of
provisions to be furnished regularly by the different States,
the failure of any one must be more or less felt.
I have the honor to be, with very great regard and esteem,
your Excellency's most ob't. and h'ble. serv't.
Geo. Washington.
In closing, the writer wishes to acknowledge the courtesy
of our President, Dr. Byron Van Home and Mr. F. W.
Van Brunt, of Englewood, Mr. Burton H. Allbee, of
Hackensack, and Mr. Cornelius Doremus, of Ridgewood,
all of whom rendered material assistance.
Nelson K. Vanderbeek.
Englewood, N. J., January 25, 1908.
^.
SOME OF CLOSTER'S OLD-TIME HISTORY.
By Mary Naugle.
The oldest house in this part of the county, one that was
considered old even in the Revolutionary times, is situated
on the old County road, Closter, N. J. It was the third
house built by that branch of the Naugle family, of whom
Mr. David Naugle, of Closter, is a descendant. Tradi-
tion says this house was sacked three times by the Tories,
and was used as a hospital for the small-pox patients be-
longing to the American army while they were camped here
during Andre's trial. They were camped near what is now
Harrington Park on the property at present owned by Abra-
ham Eckerson. It has also been said that officers of the
Continental Army stopped many times at Capt. Abram
Haring's (who lived on the site of the present Powless
homestead) to have refreshments while going back and forth
on the Tappan Road. This was told me by Miss Maggie
Powless (now deceased), a granddaughter of the above-
mentioned Capt. Haring.
Not far from v/here this house stands, on the County
Road also, is a good example of a real Dutch colonial house
built not later than 1 780.
At the present time it is owned by Mr. Louis T. Haggin,
of New York, who makes it his summer home. He has
repaired it without changing any of its ancient features.
Great, heavy beams, big, open fire-places, doors with hand-
made iron hinges, windows, whose glass one can scarcely
see through, all suggest a house of the old type. As was
customary with these early ancestors of ours, they sought a
location sure of a good spring or running water and allowed
nature to assist them further by building their houses fac-
ing the south, thus getting the maximum amount of sunshine.
52 SOME OF CLOSTER'S OLD-TIME HISTORY.
The house was built by my great-grandfather.
Isaac Naugle. There my grandfather. Henry Nau-
gle was born and my mother, Eliza Naugle. My
mother married a Naugle, of the same family, but a very
distant relation. The property on which the house was built
is part of the original tract bought by the two Naugle
brothers, Resolvert and Barent. This tract of 1 ,030 acres
was bought in April, 1710, from Captain Lancaster Syms
for £225. He, in turn, bought it from Bernardes and Gid-
eon Vervalen in 1 708, to whom it had been granted by
Gov. Carteret.
:i. >(■ !(■ f- *
Midway between Closter and Demarest, east of the
County road, is situated one of those little family burial
places, of which there were so many. In it is a red sand-
stone, tombstone, erected some years after the described
event, and which tells a pathetic tale.
The following inscription seems to give a fairly full
account:
Here lie
Douwe Talema
who died on the I 1th day of May, 1 779
in his Ninetieth year
This aged man at his Residence near this place was wil-
fully and barbarously murdered by a party of Tories Trait-
ors to their Country who had taken refuge with the Troops
of Bretain then in New York and come thence to murder
burn and plunder. To pay a tribute of Respect to his
Memory and also to commemorate the Manner of his death
several of his Relatives have erected this stone.
The house where he lived, long since gone, stood on the
old Closter Road near the Alpine Road, about in the spot
where the new house of George Vervalen now stands.
In this part of the country the name Tory did not always
signify an English adherent, but often times meant an un-
known enemy. One might retire at night, thinking every-
thing safe and find in the morning that the cows and horses
had been stolen. By whom? Tories. Perhaps some of
SOME OF CLOSTER'S OLD-TIME HISTORY. 53
the neighbors who cared more for English gold than for
the property of others. At the time this old man was killed
these marauders were strangers and came in the daytime.
When they saw these Tories coming the women fled to
the woods, leaving the old gentleman and a negro servant
around the place. After nightfall the women, cautiously
groping their way back to the house, came across the dead
body of the negro servant by the barn and on entering the
house found that the old gentleman had been killed by a
bayonet thrust. Some say the barns, too, were burned at
this time.
There seems to be several versions as to the cause of the
killing. One is that the old gentleman had some informa-
tion which he would not divulge. Another is that they
supposed the little chest on which he was seated contained
gold. The most probable version is that it contained
papers of value only to him, and failing to find anything
else, from pure maliciousness they ran a bayonet through
him.
The chest is said to be now in the possession of Peter
Blacklidge, of Closter, a relative of the above Douwe
Talema.
SCRAPS FROM MY NOTE BOOK.
By T. N. Glover, Historiographer.
Every person who is enthusiastic in a line of work has a
motto. "Aim high," "Excelsior," have been in use for
centuries. But the one voiced by Josh Billings is far better:
"Better not know so much than know so much that ain't
so." It applies with peculiar force to historical work. Facts
and their relation to one another is its object and so difficult
are these to find usually that they are ignored and imagina-
tive vagaries put in their place. Had Mr. Weems clung
to facts we would never have had the Washington-and-his-
hatchet, story, and had truth been stated, another — a Jersey-
man — would have shared with Mr. Fulton the honor of in-
venting the steamboat. When one reflects how little we
actually know of the Hfe of the past; how falsehood and
imagination are interwoven with our stories, we wonder at
the assurance of the history fakirs.
Governor Belcher thought that New Jersey was the least
profitable of any of the governments in the King's gift. In
a letter to Rev. Mr. Sargent, he said that New Jersey was
indeed a land of milk and honey, but neither the lower nor
the higher classes had any desire for the ways of virtue
and true religion. "They pay little regard to the Sabbath
— the men journey and the women divert and the children
play in the streets without reproof." This was written in
1748.
*5p ^ V Tt* T"
In his journal published by the New York Historical
Society, Adjutant General Kemble, of the British array,
says of the Baylor massacre: "The Second BattaHon
Light Infantry are thought to have been too active and
56 SCRAPS FROM MY NOTE-BOOK.
bloodthirsty in this service, and it is acknowledged on all
hands that they might have spared some who made no re-
sistance; out of 120 they killed 50 men."
*****
In the Museum of this Society in the Johnson Library are
some Indian reHcs found in this county. There are several
collections of these implements in this county, most of them
found in the immediate neighborhood. Not as many kinds
have been found in this region as in some places further west
nor are they as numerous. Quite a large and fine collec-
tion has been made in the valley south and west of Singar.
It was gathered and is now owned by Capt.
of the navy and is at his home on Staten Island. As a
rule, these relics are not as well made as those of the west.
I have seen a few hatchets well made, but they were evi-
dently importations — they were made of a kind of stone
which is not found this side of the Susquehanna River.
Those made in this region are not well made — evidently
not by good workmen. Nor are they as numerous as in
many localities, for example. Long Island or central and
western New York. Those found here may be classified:
arrow heads, spear heads, tomahawks and axes, skinning
knives and fish knives. Pieces of pottery have also been
found, though none very large nor of handsome pattern. At
a point on the coast a large part of a crock was found some
years ago. Pipes are also found. I have seen no corn crack-
ers or pestles, yet the Indians must have used them, and there
are some in the Museum of Natural History in New York.
The implements I have seen are made of various materials;
most of the arrow heads are of chert and could be made
out of some of the stones which are found in our gravel
beds; so of the knives. But while the tomahawks and
skinning knives are made of hard graystone or even slate,
they are very often made of a kind of sandstone. But there
is not here the diversity of implements nor the rich patterns
that one finds in Ohio and the West generally. Shell heaps,
known as kitchen midden, abound along the inlets and creeks
of the coast. The probabilities are that this county has not
SCRAPS FROM MY NOTE-BOOK. 57
been studied very thoroughly and that in the farmhouses and
collections are many specimens we do not know about. It
might be a good work to make up a Hst of what people
have found.
Bergen County knew well and suffered from the tread of
marching armies in the olden days. The retreat from
Fort Lee first startled the quiet valleys. The retreating
armies went up Grand avenue to Liberty Pole (Engle-
wood), thence over Teaneck hill to New Bridge and Hack-
ensack, thence to Lodi and Aquackanonk (Passaic) ; thence
to Trenton and Morristown. British soldiers followed the
same route, except they came to the Bridge by way of Little
Ferry. But the American army was not half way to Tren-
ton when Gen. Heath came down from his station in the
highlands of the Hudson River by way of Paramus almost
to New Bridge, thence to Hackensack and English Neigh-
borhood, past Closter and Tappan, raising an uproar among
the tories and the few British soldiers there; captured 50
tories, 50 or 60 stands of arms, a ship laden and ready to
sail; made a raid on Col. Van Buskirk's house, taking
therefrom 50 barrels of flour and a hogshead of rum^ — sup-
plies for the British army. Gen Clinton went to Passaic and
thence to Closter. All through the war small bands
of soldiers wandered over the southern part of the county.
They visited the Kingsland Manor House and carried its
owner to prison and left marks of their coming on the Schuy-
ter house. On July 14, 1 777, Washington and his army left
Pompton Plains and marched to Van Aulens, about a mile
east of the Old Pond's Church (Oakland) ; next day they
went to Suffern and remained three or four days. Old peo-
ple still point out the camp ground on the hillside east of
the Haverstraw road and south of Tallman Avenue, and
fifteen years ago quite a number of the old camp ovens or
fire-places could be seen. Then they marched into the
Clove as far as Southfields, came back and for two
days encamped at Ramapough, a little village between Oak-
land and Suffern, and next day went to Pompton. Some
58 SCRAPS FROM MY NOTE-BOOK.
soldiers must have been at Paramus nearly all the time, but
from July 11 to 15, 1 778, Washington and his army were
there, a division having come up by way of Hackensack;
also on Dec. 5, 6, 7, 1 778, and July 29, 1 780. In 1 781
part of the army was there again, marching for Yorktown.
On August 23, 1 780, the army at Tappan broke camp and
moved down to Teaneck Hill; it remained there till Sep-
tember 4, then went to Steenrapie and remained there till
the 20th, when it returned to Tappan. In the meantime,
Burr at Ramapo, Gen. Clinton, with his Orange County
soldiers, Gen Winds, of Rockaway, were watching the
movements of the enemy, and when, in 1 780, a party of
British marched up to attack a Pennsylvania regiment at
Hoppertown, east end of present Ridgewood Street, they
were met by one Capt. Outwater and his militia. And
earlier in the year a troop came up from the south, burned
some buildings in Hackensack, but went no further than
the Red Mills. In 1 778 came the CHnton raids, of which
the Baylor massacre formed an episode. For some time
there must have been an encampment at New Bridge — each
army threw up earthworks, traces of which can be seen to-
day, and Washington was there several times, and letters
dated there are shll in existence. The aUied armies marched
through Bergen County on their way to Yorktown. One di-
vision of the French marched to Paramus from the north;
the other by way of Hackensack. This county during the
Revolution was well settled, the farms were rich and well
cultivated, and the people felt the presence of the soldiers
severely.
¥ ¥ V y ¥
And about Washington's headquarters: not houses where
he stopped for a glass of water, but those which he occu-
pied for a time as an office. This county is by no means
without them, and his occupancy of them is well attested.
Some of them are gone, but their sites are known, and
descriptions of them are given. One is standing here in
Hackensack — the present Mansion House. The addition
of a third story and verandas have changed somewhat its
SCRAPS FROM MY NOTE-BOOK. 59
outward appearance, but some of the rooms remain in the
original state; chimney tiles are in place, old cupboards, old
doors and locks and brass knobs are in place. It was owned
m I 776 by Peter Zabriskie, and tradition says it was built
in 1750. Washington came here on Nov. 14, 1776, from
Peekskill, and with the exception of a night (p>ossibly two
nights), he remained till the 21st. Many letters were di-
rected to him here, and many were sent out by him.
He wrote from here to his brother, John Augustus Wash-
ington, "It is a matter of great grief and surprise to me to
find the different States so slow and inattentive to the essen-
tial business of levying quotas of men. I am worried to
death over the retrograde motion of things." And from
this house went forth that letter from his adjutant-general.
Reed, to Gen. Lee, complaining of an indecisive mind — the
greatest misfortune that can befall an army — and telling
him that if he had been present the affair at Fort Washing-
ton would probably have resulted differently. Headquar-
ters at Fort Lee are mentioned in one or two letters directed
to him, but there was never any there. He stayed there
one night, but as Gen. Greene's guest at the Taylor house.
(Of this house not a vestige remains, but old settlers in the
village remember it well.) The headquarters at Englewood
— he called it Liberty Pole — stood a short distance from
the present Liberty School on the site of the house now
occupied by Dr. V'^alentine Ruch, Jr., on the northeast cor-
ner of Palisade Avenue and Tenafly Road. The greater
part of the old building was torn down after 1813, and
the frame structure forming the main part of the present
building was erected in its place. The stone wall forming
part of the present east wing is undoubtedly part of the
original structure. (Letter from Mr. Nelson K. Vander-
beek.) The frame structure known later as the Liberty
Pole Tavern has nothing to do with the Washington head-
quarters and does not date back of 1 835. Washington was
here probably from August 23rd till the 31st, 1780. He
probably was not here in person all that time, for we have
leUers from him, "Liberty Pole Tavern, Teaneck, N. J."
60 SCRAPS FROM MY NOTE-BOOK.
Near Liberty Pole Tavern," "Miles from Fort Lee,"
'Hackensack Bridge." Washington and his army were at
Paramus so often, and so many important papers were sent
out from there, that he must have had a headquarters there,
but all tradition of them seems to have gone. There was an
old Hopper tavern up on the Hohokus road at that time,
and this may have been the building. Among the letters
received here was one from the President of Congress sug-
gesting co-operation with D'Estaing, while he sent to the
same person information of the arrival of the French fleet.
He also sent from here a present to the admiral — some live
stock. Another of the vanished headquarters is that at
Ramapaugh. One of the most widely known of the head-
quarters was a short distance below Ramapaugh and is
known as Headquarters, Bergen Co. In the Sparks Col-
lections and the Ford Lists are given a great many important
papers and orders sent out from this house. He occupied it
continuously from Sept. 4 to Sept. 20, 1 780, and he left
it to go to Hartford, Conn., for the conference with
Rochambeau, which resulted in the capture of Lord Corn-
wallis at Yorktown. The army was encamped at Steen-
rapie. He was here on several other occasions, but does
not seem to have remained long. It was the residence of
Andrew Hopper, who was one of his most trusted spies. It
is away from the railroad. I think Ramseys, on the main
line of the Erie is nearest to it. In Washington's day, it
was a long stone building — the imposing structure given in
Mr. Lossing's Field Book is of a later date. Mr. Haver-
meyer, the sugar refiner, owned it some years ago, and then
I visited it. The wing was then standing. He was trying
to restore the old building. The late Mr. J. B. Suffern,
of Hillburn, N. Y., who was a relative of the family and a
frequent visitor told me that Mrs. Hopper's daughter was
about 1 6 at this time and could remember well sitting on
the General's knee. Till after the middle of the last cen-
tury Washington's room was kept as near as it was when
he left it as the changes in the house permitted. There wai
the bed on which he slept, some of the crockery he used, an
SCRAPS FROM MY NOTE-BOOK. 61
old Dutch Bible, etc. The house was kept in the family
for many years afterward. Just beyond the border of our
county were two more buildings, the one in the village of
Suffern, N. Y. ; the other in Tappan, N. Y. The one in
Suffern is not now standing. It was just west of the
present Suffern residence and was torn down soon after
the latter was built. A picture of this old house
is given in Mr. Lossing's Field Book. It was a
tavern kept by John Suffern, a member of the council of
safety and a friend of Gen. Clinton. Washington was
there two or three times, and letters connected with his stay
are extant. It was also the headquarters of Col. Burr
while he commanded the Ramapo fortifications. The
building at Tappan is still standing, or a part of it at least.
A picture of it as it appeared half a century ago is also in
Mr. Lossing's work. It is not the '76 House, as so many
suppose — it is a residence east of it. It is and always has
been a residence. Originally it was a long, low Dutch cot-
tage with an extension at each end. They were taken away
years ago and in place of one of them is now a substantial
upright house of wood. The original house was built of
materials, it is said, imported from Holland. Not so many
years ago the iron figures denoting the date of erection —
1700 — were visible. One Dirck Straalmacher built it
and in 1 756 sold it to one De Wint, a merchant and a
native of the West Indies. He lived there in Washington's
day, and his family owned it for three-quarters of a cen-
tury afterwards; then it passed to strangers, and when
I visited it twenty years ago, the occupants could scarcely
speak English. This house is connected with the Andre
episode, and although the trial of the spy was held in the
old church yet the death-warrant was signed in the parlor
of this house. There are a great many letters and orders
now in existence dated from here. It is also called the
Headquarters at Orangetown.
About two blocks east of the point where the Belleville
turnpike crosses the Newark & Hackensack trolley road is
62 SCRAPS FROM MY NOTE-BOOK.
what people now call the Arlington copper mine. It is
somewhat interesting from a geological point of view; quite
interesting from an historical. It is not. and never has
been, a rich mine. When, a few years ago, the main shaft
was pumped out and examined, one expert estimated the
amount of ore in sight at five per cent and another at two
and one-half. Several years ago an analysis of the rock
was made which makes a mining engineer at this day smile,
and that analysis has been published far and near. A piece
of cuprite (red copper ore) was reported eighty-two per
cent, red oxide of copper, and a specimen of chysocolla
(copper silicate) fifty-five per cent. The ore is not in vem
structure; simply here and there segregated masses; conse-
quently systematic mining is impossible. It lies scattered in
minute quantities in the sandstone overlying the trap and re-
quires rock crushing and separating. It is best known as
the Schuyler copper mine, and is said to be the oldest cop-
per mine in this country. It has been discussed in colonial
legislatures, by the Royal Board of Trade in ParHament
and in English and Dutch machine shops. Early m the
1 700's Arent Schuyler, a member of the famous Albany
family, then residing at Pompton, New Jersey, acquired a
property opposite the present Belleville, extending from
river to river. On this property, somewhere about 1714
copper was discovered: how, no one knows — stories enough
are current — but without doubt the discovery was the re-
sult of systematic search. In those days, and for a centurv
before and after, a perfect mining craze possessed all Europe
and America; the wild dreams of the Spaniards were trans-
ferred to northern regions. Men hunted minerals every-
where, sometimes with witch hazel twigs and peach tree
sprouts, but more often Vv'ith pick and shovel. It was sys-
tematically carried on in this State, and the iron mines of
Ring^A^ood and Flibernia and Morris County generally were
the outcomes. All over northern New Jersey I have found
holes which people call Indian wells or Indian mines, but
which in reality are old prospectors' diggings. Arent
Schuyler himself probably did Httle mining, but his son.
SCRAPS FROM MY NOTE-BOOK. 63
John, known as Col. John, early assumed control and held
it for years. We know little about his methods of work or
his profits— whether those methods were good, how many
men he employed, where they came from — no one can tell.
It was counted in those days a great mine, and reports went
abroad that from four to six ounces of silver were found in
every ton of ore. Dr. Franklin visited it in 1 750 and
wrote of its value. We know from certain records that in
the fifteen years which preceded 1731, 1,386 tons of ore
had been sent to Bristol, England, where it was highly
esteemed and eagerly sought. ?daybe shipments were made
elsewhere; if not, the production was not great. How much
the Schuylers received a ton no one knows — it has been said
£75, equal to about $365 of our money; but this is in-
credible. Some way for a number of years it must have
paid well enough, for they went on putting in money. It
must at first have been easy to work. Situated on the bluff,
a gallery on a level with the meadows would drain it, and
a shaft, down to that level, could be easily worked with a
'wh:n." Tradition says they had five shafts — all but one
now filled up — but that they went down only about a hun-
dred feet. As time went on, however, the drainage and
hoisting questions became perplexing; but Col. John Vv^as
equal to the emergency. The Newcommen steam engine
had been invented only a few years, and was in use in some
of the Cornish mines, as it is to-day in an improved form.
Satisfying himself that it could be used, the Colonel ordered
one; the date must have been 1748 or '50. It reached
the mines, in parts and very quietly, four years later. It
was the third steam engine in America and the first west of
the Hudson River. No description of it remains, and we
must suppose it was like the others of the period, cumber-
some and wasteful, still an improvement on the old methods
of hoisdng. Part of the old cylinder, made of copper, lay
for years in a foundry at Newark and in 1876 was exhib-
ited at the Philadelphia Centennial. The engine stood till
1773, when it was burned and early in the 1 800's was sold
as junk to a Philadelphia dealer. With the engine came a
64 SCRAPS FROM MY NOTE-BOOK.
young man named Hornblower to superintend its erection,
and he found that his work must begin at the very beginning.
So he set his men to quarrying stone, burning brick, sawing
lumber and hammering out nails. He planned the works and
superintended the erection of the buildings. He finished this
in about a year, and the machine began its work. It stood by
the main shaft. It was used for pumping and raised about
eight hogsheads of water a minute. People regarded it as
wonderful and drove long distances to see it, coming
often times in crowds. It has been said that it was
so quietly imported to avoid these crowds. But work
at the mine became somewhat irregular. Mr. Horn-
blower remained with the Schuylers some years, and in
1 761 , after the mines had been idle some years, he and one
John Stendhal leased them from the Schuylers at an annual
lay of one-seventh the ore. The French and Indian War
was raging, and an attack was feared; the Schuylers were
actively engaged in the colonial service and Stendhal be-
came dissatisfied. Expenses were increasing, so less atten-
tion was gradually paid to the works. In 1 765, according
to the books, the lessees made a profit of $1,676 of our
money; in 1770, $4,785. and in 1773, $2,855. After
the fire all work was stopped. In 1 793 a new company
was organized and a new lease given. This company hired
German miners, worked about a year and then abandoned
the enterprise. And the financial ups and downs of the mine
continued. This mine was discussed in the Royal councils of
England and in New Jersey council. It caused copper to be
placed on the enumerated list and was referred to in parlia-
mentary discussion as an evidence of the wealth of the
Americans and their ability to pay the taxes demanded of
them. Work was hampered in a way, for the Schuylers
were not allowed to use smelters, but at best the old navi-
gation laws were not very rigidly enforced, and the family
was too powerful to make official interference very serious.
A cargo of 1 1 casks of ore was shipped in 1 72 1 to Hol-
land, although nearly all the product was sent to Bristol,
England. But that shipment excited the English, and the
SCRAPS FROM MY NOTE-BOOK. 65
Lords of Trade suggested that further shipments of this na-
ture be prevented by act of Parhament. This suggestion,
however, was never acted on, and after much discussion.
Governor Montgomery, of New York, was requested to
confer with Col. Schuyler, who finally promised that Eng-
lish firms should have the privilege of making the first offet
for the ore. Then the colonial legislature of New Jersey
enacted that a duty of forty shillings per ton should be paid
on all ore shipped to countries other than England. This
law Col. Schuyler evaded by carting the ore to New York
and then shipping it. He must have succeeded pretty well
in this, for soon a complaint came from Bristol that this
New Jersey law was discouraging mining. Few remains of
the pre-Revolutionary works exist. Nature has been active
and has filled up the old galleries and shafts, or later work-
ers have enlarged them. Tradition has it that the main
shaft is intact — that which the old engine worked in. If
one takes the path toward the new buildings which starts
opposite the house of Mr. George Bayliss on Schuyler
Avenue and walks along a few rods he will come to a
small, weatherbeaten building — the first he finds — and this
covers the hole. No one can get into it so as to look down
into the shaft, and nothing could be seen if he did look.
The whole crest of the hill beyond has been dug over since
— blasted out — and probably many of the Schuyler exca-
vations are destroyed. The road that goes winding down
the hill is part of the old Belleville turnpike which is con-
stantly referred to in writings of Revolutionary days and
long afterward. It was built down to the Hackensack
River by the Schuylers. It was surveyed by Mr. Horn-
blower in 1 765 and was cut through a cedar swamp so
dense that during the day surveyors had to carry lanterns
to see their readings. It became after the war the main
road to Newark, and was in places so narrow that teams
could not pass. "Turning out" places were built where
one team could turn out enough to let another pass and
when one gained one of the places he always looked ahead
as far as possible to see if a team was coming. If he saw
66 SCRAPS FROM MY NOTE-BOOK.
nothing he ventured to go on, though it sometimes happened
that a carriage appeared at a most inconvenient place and
the horses had to be unhitched and the wagons worked past
each other. In 1772 the legislature of the State author-
ized a lottery to raise money for putting on a coating of
gravel. And now I believe it is to be improved to meet mod-
ern ideas. Remains of mining of a later date can be seen
everywhere. "Since I can remember," said Mr. George Bay-
liss, "two companies besides the present one have worked
it. The Consolidated Mining Company must have been
operating before 1 860 and made money, for it worked sev-
eral years. Then came the New York and New Jersey
Mining Company, which was mining, as I remember, in
1863. It employed 150 men and had eight shafts. Silicate
ore and stone were carted away, sometimes to Hackensack
River and at others to Belleville. It operated several
stamps and 'buddies' and hoisted by 'whin.' The old shaft
now goes down about 230 feet, and a gallery runs into the
hill 1 ,500 feet. It is a large excavation, probably 8 feet
broad and 6 feet high and is old. It is known as the
'Victoria shaft.' It starts from the Schuyler shaft and runs
a little west of north to a point close by Arlington Avenue
between First and Elm Streets. A covering marks the end
of it. At no place is it less than 200 feet below the sur-
face. It was near the upper end of this gallery that a gang
of workmen one day took out $10,000 worth of ore. Mr.
Westlake, the foreman, told me this years ago. When this
gallery was pumped out seven or eight years ago, I walked
through it. I saw copper enough there and some of it
native."
^ V ^ ^ V
Within the past year I have received a letter asking,
"What is this 'Force's Archives' to which you refer in some
of your articles? I have not access to the largest public
libraries, but those to which I have applied can give me no
information about it." To answer this question in full and
give the interesting history connected with the book requires
more space than is now at my command. Suffice it
SCRAPS FROM MY NOTE-BOOK. 67
to say that it is a storehouse of information — a col-
lection of documents relating to our history of the
Revolution which are in possession of the government.
Its title is properly "The American Archives," and
was edited by Col. Peter Force under a contract with
the government that he should arrange and copy and pre-
pare for publication the official reports, letters and other
documents in possession of the government and the govern-
ment should print them. He divided his subject into six
series, the fourth of which should contain the first period of
the War of the Revolution, and on this he began. Kis friend.
Prof. George W. Greene, a grandson of the old Major Gen-
eral, states the plan of the work as given him by the Colonel
(Magazine of American Histor}), April, 1878): "The
truest history would be a literal reproduction of past doubts
and discussions; of the acts of legislative assemblies; of the
resolves of popular meetings; -^f rumors gradually setding
into facts or dying away into sil nee. To obtain this he
saw it was necessary to let the past tell its own story. Three
elements appear in the history of the Revolution — or, to
speak with greater precision, three classes of actors, some-
times distinct, at others in union — public assemblies, the
army, and the people. The public assemblies were in
England the two houses of Parliament; in America, Con-
gress and the provincial assemblies under their various local
names. General Court, General Assembly, Committee of
Safety, etc etc. The history of the army is contained in
the official reports and correspondence of the ofRcers and in
the private letters of officers and men; the opinions of the
people can be gathered from the votes at election and their
comphance with the demands made upon them and in part
from pamphlets, letters and papers. Going back, therefore,
and arranging these various materials, each in its proper
order and place, day by day, we reproduce the past." As
soon as the contract was completed he set to work. A room
was assigned him, and his copyists and he began his search
for papers. Files were heaped on files without order or
method, bundles of manuscripts were found in hopeless con-
68 SCRAPS FROM MY NOTE-BOOK.
tusion in pigeon holes and corners where they had been vis-
ited by mice and were covered with spider webs. But as soon
as people began to understand the nature of his work, pri-
vate collections were opened to him and manuscripts and
pamphlets were sent him from every wheic. Soon he had
correspondents in every town and copyists in every office.
Faithfully he transcribed those letters, army returns, debates
— everything that related to the old times, preserving the
spelling, punctuation and capitals. Nine volumes only were
published — six of the fourth series and three of the fifth —
extending from March 7, 1774, to December 31, 1776.
The tenth volume was ready for the press, but offi-
cial incompetence and demagoguery refused to print it.
"Your work is of no use to anybody: I never read a page
of it and I never expect to," said Secretary Marcy when
it was brought to him. Those who knew Mr. Marcy knew
well that he never did read such literature, and he erred in
supposing that he was a typical, intelligent American. Col.
Force was born on a farm near Little Falls, Passaic Co ,
but when a small child the family moved to New York City.
Listening to the stories of old soldiers in his boyhood, he be-
came imbued with a love for history and he formed a
plan of writing a book, "The Unwritten History of the
War in New Jersey," gathered materials and wrote .tome
chapters, but every vestige of it has disappeared. His
"Archives" are ir'dispensable to the student, and the gov-
ernment now, in the hands of intelligent people, is carrying
on his work through the Library of Congress.
THE EDSALL PAPERS.
By Byron G. Van Horne, M. D.
Through the courtesy of Mr. John G. Edsall, Palisades
Park, N. J., I was permitted to make copies of the follow-
ing papers, the originals being in his possession. These are
verbatim copies and have been arranged, so far as possible in
chronological order.
On the reverse side of the first paper is this statement:
"A true from the Exemplifications of Records in the
Office of the Proprietors of East New Jersey at Perth Am-
boy, August 8, 1816."
JAMES PARKER, Regr.
The paper itself reads as follows:
. 1 Philip Carteret Esq. Governor &c.
Book page 43 ^^ ^^p^ ^.^^j^^ ^^^j^^^ ^ j^^
zU reoruary I ooo „ i r- i n
oamuel lidsall.
"a certain tract of land lying and being upon the west
side of Hudsons river joining to the North End of the
bounds belonging to the Corporation of Bergen beginning at
the sound End thereof at the aforesaid bounds from Espa-
ten and Mordavis meadow from thence to run upon a N.
N. E. and South S. West line up the said Hudsons River
to a place called Aguapock in length 200 chaines or two
miles and a half from thence to a cross over North West
through a marsh or meadow to a Creek that comes out of
Hackinsack River called Overpecks Creek that runs North
East and S. W. in bredth two miles from thence on the
West side to the said Hackinsack River the same length of
two miles and a half and on the south End bounded as
aforesaid in bredth 1 20 chaines or one mile and a half
which said tract of land contains according to the survey
waste land and meadow being therein comprehended to One
thousand eight hundred and seventy two acres English
measure."
70 THE EDSALL PAPERS.
The next paper unfortunately ends at a point which leaves
us to question the date. Have not been able to find the
missing ending, but as Gov. Carterett resigned in 1 682 it
must have been prior to that date. In the book "East Jer-
sey Under the Proprietors," pages 51 and 52, we find the
following, referring to Gov. Carterett, which may throw
a little light on the matter:
"But, on the 7th. of April 1 668, he issued his procla-
mation, requiring the freeholders of each town to make
choice of two able men that were freeholders and dwellers
within their lim't^, to be ihsir Burgesses and Representatives
in a general assembly, to be held at Elizabethtown, on the
25th May. He had chosen for his council Captain Nicho-
las Verlett, Daniel Pierce, Robert Bond, Samuel Edsall,
Robert Vanquellen and William Pardon" :
Philip Carterett Esq. Governour of the Province of New
Cesarea or New Jarsey, under the Right Hono'ble John
Lord Berkley Baron of Stratton, and Sr George Carteret
Knt. and Barronet the True and absolute Lords Proprietors
of the said Province —
To my Trusty and Weel beloved Friend Samuel Edsall
Esq.
Whereas I am assured of yo'r Knowledge, Wisedome,
Prudence & Integrittie in ye management of the Publique
Affaires in these partes of America, I have thought fitt and
doe by these presents nominate and appoint yo'u the said
Samuel Edsall, dureing pleasure to be one of my Councel-
lors for the Affaires of the said Province and to be assistant
to mee yo'r said Governour on my Deputy for the time being
and doe hereby authorize & require yo'u to put in execution,
observe and follow such orders and Directien as yo'u shall
from time to time receive from the Lords Proprieto'rs or
myselfe as to the office and dutie of a Councellour & As-
sistant to mee yo'r said Governour appertaine and
belong. Given under the Seale of the Province the Second
day of January in ye * * *
I
THE EDSALL PAPERS. 71
It will be seen also that this third paper is a copy dated
1740, the original being dated 1676:
To all Christian people to whome this preasent writing
shall Come Samuel Edsill of the Corporation of Bargin in
the province of new Jersey Marchant Sendes Greting In our
Lord God Everlasting
Know all men by these preasents that whereas I the Said
Samuel Edsill have by grant or pattant from the Right
Honer'le John Lord Barkley Barron of Stranton & George
Carteret Kn't & Baranet of a tract of Land Lying Between
Hucsons River and overpecks Creek or River Baring Date
the Twentieth Day of Feb'y in the Year cf our Lord one
thousand sixe hundred and Sixty Eight as Relation being
thereunto had upon Record may move at Large ap'r now
know ye that I the Said Sam'el Edsil upon good and Valu-
able Considerations me thereunto moving but more particu-
larly for and in Consideration of a portion or Dowry be-
stowed upon my two Daughters Anna & Judith Have
Given granted Infeeofed and Confirmed and Do by these
preasents give grant Infeeofe & Confirme unto my trusty
and well beloved two Son's in Law Benjaman Blagge now
Husband to my daughter Judith of the Town of Plymo'h
in England, Marrinnar and William Lawrance now Hus-
band to my Daughter Anne of the City of New York
yeomon, a part and parcell of the above mentioned tract of
Land Lying and being between Hudsons River and over-
peck Creek as aforesaid beginning at the North-East Side
of the Said Land Joyning to Michael Smiths Line from
thence Running South West till it Combs twenty Rod below
the Indian Castle from thence Running South East to the
top of the Hill by Hudsons River & from thence to Cross
over through the Marsh or medow to Overpeck Creek or
River which said land is to be Divided Equally & parted
in halfs upon a Line atwarth the above said neck Between
my Said Two Sones in Law Beniaman and William the
one of which said Moyties Belonging to Benjamin Blagge
is to begin at the North East end thereof Joyning to
Michaele Smiths Line as aforesaid & to run down South
72 THE EDSALL PAPERS.
west till it Combs to his Just proportion from whence the
other moitie Belonging to the said WiUiam Lawrance is to
begin & to run upon the Said Line to the top of the Hill, by
Hudsons River as aforesaid both which Said Divisions of
Land are bounded on the East by Hudsons rever and
west by Overpeck Creek or River to Have and to Hold the
aforesaid Demised primisses together with all the Marshes,
Meadows Creeks and all other appurtenance gains profits
Immunities and privileges thereunto belonging and apper-
taining the Half of the Gold and Silver Mines only Ex-
cepted by them the Said Benjaman Blagg and WiUiam
Lawrance their Hairs or assigns for ever yealding and pay-
in the Quit Rent of Twent Shill's p annum to the Lords
proprietors the Same Quietly and peccable to Jnioy without
any Let hinderance molistation encumbarance or Ejection of
me the Said Samuel Edsall my Heirs Ex'rs Adm'rs or As-
signs or any other parson or parsons by from or under my
Means absent Consent or procurment. In Witness whereof
I have Set my Hand and Scale to Two of these preasant
Deeds of one and the same Date the Seventh Day of July
in the year of our Lord one thousand Six hundred and
Seventy Six and in the twenty eight year of his Majesties
Reign Charles the Second &c Samuel Edsall
Signed Sealed & Delivered
In the preasence of
Robert Van quellin
Andrew Gibb
Ja: Bollen
Coppy'd from & Compared
with the origenall Oct I 5 I 740
pr, Bn. Blagge.
Mr. Samuell Edsills Deed of gift to his Two Sons In
Law Benj'a Blagge and Will'a Lawrance of a Tract of
Land upon Hudsons River In new Jersey the 7 July 1676
Entred upon Record in Feb. 68
Jam's Bollen Secrc'ty-
THE EDSALL PAPERS. 78
Samuel Edsell
To
Benj'n Blagg &
William Lawrance
Deed.
The next paper is interesting from the fact of its being
a commission from Gov. Leisler, who at a subsequent period
was executed for treason. On the left of the paper, directly
under the extremely large W appears a large red seal of a
plainly marked coat of arms :
By the Lieut. Governor — & Councill & —
Whereas I am fully Satisfied w'th ye, Integritie & Pru-
dence of you Samuel Edsall Esq: — By virtue of ye Au-
thority unto mee derived from his maj'tie King William I
do hereby Constitute & Comissionate you ye S. Samuel
Edsall Esq: to Administer ye oaths apointed for ye Sev-
erall Justices of ye Peace w'th in ye County of Suffolk on
Long Island acording to Law & for So doing this Shall be
your Sufficient Warrant —
Given under my hand & Seale at Fort Wm In New
/ork this 1 4th day of May in ye Second Year of their
ma'ties Reigne 1690:
Past this office Jacob Leisler
Abrah'm Gouvemeur.
There is now a lapse of seventy years or more between
the preceding paper and the following one, which is a deed
of sale from John Christeen, or Christie, to his daughter
Naomi and her husband John Day. The property was
evidently a patent granted by Lord Berkley and Sir Geo.
Carteret to the above named John Christie:
To all Christaen People to whome these Preasents Writh-
ing shall Come John Christeen of the Corporation of Ber-
gen in the provence of New jersey jintleman Stands Greet-
ing In our Lord Everlasting.
Know all men by these presents that whearas I the said
John Christeen Have by Vertue of a Patten from the Rightt
John Lord Barkly Bar't of Stranton & George Carteret K't
74 THE EDSALL PAPERS.
& Baranight of a Tract of Land lying on the Top of the
Mountain by Peter Degroots S. W. Line from thence on a
S. E. Course on Hunsons River So upon Hudsons River to
a Chestnut oak Tree marked on two Sides Standing on
Smith's Line by Hudsons River thence N. W. a Long
Smiths Line to the top of the mountain and all a Long the
Top of the Mountain to the place Whear it First Begun
Now Know ye that I the said John Christeen upon good
and Valuable Considerations me thereunto moveing but
more partically for and in Consideration of a Portion or
Dowry Bestowed upon my Daughter Naomi have given
granted Infeafed and Confirmed and do by these presents
give grant In fee simple &c. Conferm unto my Trusty and
well beloved Son in Law John Day now Husband to my
aforesaid Daughter Naomi of the County of Bergen To
Have and to Hold Hold unto the Said John Day His Hiars
and Assigns for ever the afore Said tract of Land as above
mentioned and also as much Land on the top of the moun-
tain as to make two Hundred and Tirty acres Binding
Southerly on the Land of Hartman Brinkerhoef Northerly
on the Lands of Michael Smith without any Lest Hender-
hance molestation Encumberance or Ejection of me the
Said John Christeen my Heirs Executors Administrators or
Assigns or any other person or Persons Claiming by from
or under my Name assant Consent or Procorment. In wit-
ness whereof I Have Set my Hand and Seal this Tenth Day
of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven
Hundred and Sixty and in the Thirty Third year of the
Reign of our soergn Lord George Second.
Signed Sealed and Dehvered
John Christeen.
In the presents of Abraham Montanye
Jacob bonta
Cost 6 S. proc'l
Hackensak, October the third '761 i hen appeared
befoor me Samii?! moore one of the Judges of Court of
Common Pleas abraham Montonya one of the Evidence to
this Dade of Sale and being doly Sworn upon the Holy
THE EDSALL PAPERS. 75
aveangelist of almighty God Sayeth that the Said John
Christie Seal Sign and Deliver this Dead of Sail as his Law-
full act and Deed and Saw Jacob Bontow Sign as the other
Evedence with him
acknowledged befoor me
Samuel Moore Com.
Entered In the Bublic Records for the County of Ber-
gen in Liber C fol. 335 & 336 this fifth day of October
1761 & Examined By me.
David Provoost Clk.
The next paper records the sale of a negro slave. It
seems strange to us now to think of slaves being bought and
sold in our own county:
Know all men by these presents that I peter J. Banta
of teanafly Cordv/aner* for and in Consideration of the
Sum of Seaventy Eight pounds of Good and Lawfull money
of the State of New York to me in hand paid at and Before
the Sealing and Dehvery of these presents by Samuel Ed-
sell of the English Neighbourhood farmer the Receipt
whereof I Do hereby Acknowledge and my Self to be there
with fully Satisfied, Contented and paid have granted Bar-
gained Sold Released and by these Presents do fully Clearly
and absolutely grant Bargain Sell and Release unto the
Said Samuel Edsell a Negro Man Named frank aged about
twenty two Years to have and to hold the said Negro man
frank unto the Said Samuel Edsell and to his Executors
Administrators and Assigns for Ever and of the Said Peter
J. Banta for my Self my heirs Executors and Administra-
tors do covenant and agree to and with the above Named
Samuel Edsell his Executors Administrators and Assigns to
warrant Defend and Indemnifie the Sale of the above
Named Negro man frank against all and Every person or
persons What So Ever In Witness Whereof I have hereunto
Set my hand and Seal this Seventh Day of April annoq,
Dom. one thousand Seaven hundred and Ninety
•Shoemaker.
76 THE EDSALL PAPERS.
Sealed and Delivered
In the presence of
N. B. the word, pounds. Being Interlines Before the
Sealing and Delivery of these presents
John S. Banta
John Day Petro J. Banta.
I
Was this woman well paid for her services? —
English Neighbourhood December the twenty first 1 797
Received of Samuel Edsall the sum of six shillings for
My Wifes Nitting One pair of Stockings for Jacob Edsalls
Negro fellow Bob. In full of all Demands
mark,
Dannel Days X
The Governors of New Jersey get along with much lets
title in more recent times:
His Excellency
Richard Howell Esquire Governor, Captain-General and
Commander-in-Chief in and over the State of New-Jersey
and Territories thereunto belonging. Chancellor and Ordi-
nary in the same.
To John Smith & Samuel Edsall Greeting:
Whereas Jacob Edsall did not by Deed in his Lifetime,
nor by his Last Will & Testament, dispose of the Guardian-
ship of his children Daniel Jane & Samuel Edsall and
whereas the said Daniel, Jane & Samuel being under the
Age of fourteen Years, the above-said Samuel Edsall hath,
by his Petition, on Behalf of the said Infants filed in the
Surrogate's Office for the County of Bergen prayed that he
may be appointed Guardian of the Persons and Estates of
the said Daniel Jane and Samuel Edsall until they shall at-
tain the Age of fourteen Years.
And it appearing by a Transcript of the Order of Ap-
pointment of the Orphans' Court of the said County of Ber-
gen filed in the Prerogative Office of New-Jersey, that the
said John Smith and Samuel Edsall are appointed Guard-
ians of the Persons and Estates of the said Infants Now
THE EDSALL PAPERS.
Know Ye, That I have accordingly authorized, deputed and
appointed, and by these presents do authorize, depute and
appoint the said John Smith and Samuel Edsall to be Keep-
ers or Guardians of the said Daniel Jane & Samuel until
they shall attain their Age of fourteen years with full Power
and Authority to the said John Smith & Samuel Edsall to
maintain any Action of Trespass against v/rongful Takers-
away or Detainers of the said Daniel Jane & Samuel And
I do also appoint and authorize the said John Smith &
Samuel Edsall to take into your Charge and Care the Per-
sons Estate and Education of the said Daniel Jane and
Samuel until they shall attain their Age of fourteen Years;
and to see or prosecute any such Action or Actions in Rela-
tion to the Premises, as by Law a Guardian in Soccage
might.
In Testimony whereof I have caused the Great Seal of
the said State to be hereunto affixed at Trenton in the said
State, the twenty fourth Day of January in the Year of
our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred and Ninety Eight.
R. D. Howell,
i o John Smith & Samuel Edsall.
In the orphans Court of the County of Bergen of the Term
of March. Anno Domini 1804.
Whereas, the orphans Court for the County of Bergen
some time past did appoint Samuel Edsal Guardian of the
person and Estate of Daniel Edsall and Infants under the
age of fourteen years and the said Daniel having now at-
tamed the age of fourteen years and chose that the said
Samuel Edsall be continued as his guardian until he shall be
of full age and having at this time appeared before the
County and application being made to the Courts by the
said Minor The Court do order that the said Samuel Ed-
sall be continued Guardian of the person and Estate of the
said Daniel and that an entry thereof be made by the Clerk
m the mmutes of the Court and endorsed on the Letter of
Guardianship.
John A. Boyd. Clerk.
THE EDSALL PAPERS.
May the 23th 1 798 Received of Abel Smith and Sam-
uel the Administrators of Jacob Edsall late deceased Estate
the Sum of twenty dollars money that was lent to him in his
life time.
hur
Suasanna hur X mark Cutter,
mark
This next paper records a somewhat lengthy deed from
John Edsall and Mary, his wife, to Samuel Edsall:
This Indenture made the first Day of April in the Year
of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and one Between
John Edsall of patterson in the County of Essex in new Jer-
sey And Mary his wife of the one part and Samuel Edsall
of the Enghsh Neighbourhood in the County of Bergen of
the other part Witnesseth that the said John Edsall and
Mary his wife for the Consideration of three hundred and
Seventy five Dollars paid or Secured to be paid to the Said
John Edsall by the said Samuel Edsall do Grant bargain
Sell and Convey unto the Said Samuel Edsall and to his
heirs and Assigns the one Sixt part of all that Lot of Land
Being and Leying in the English Neighbourhood Beginning
in the middle of the Road on the Hne of John Smith thence
Runing a South Easterly Course along the lines of John
Smiih, Samuel Jas. Moore, John Vansile and Doctor Brad-
hor5t to the Run of water Commonly Called the "Great Run
then Down Stream of Said Run to the hne of Abel Smith
then a north westerly Course along the said Abel Smiths Hne
to the Said Road then up Said Road to the place of Be-
gining Containing one hundred Acres together with all things
thereto appertaining or Belonging as part or parcel of the
Same or Reputed so to be And the Reversions and Re-
mainders Rents Issues and profits thereof with the appur-
tenances and also all the estate of the Said John Edsall and
Mary his wife or either of them either in Law or Equity of
in and to the same To have and to hold all the Sixt part of
the Said premises unto the Said Samuel Edsall his heirs and
assigns to the only proper use of the said Samuel Edsall his
THS EDSALL PAPERS. 79
heirs and Assigns for Ever, And the Said John Edsall Doth
for himself his heirs executors and Administrators Covenant
with the Said Samuel Edsall his heirs and Assigns that he
now is the Lawful and Rightful owner in fee Simple of the
premises herein Granted And is Seized thereof at the En-
seaHng and Delivery of these presents of an Indefeasible
Estate of Inheritance in fee Simple Without any Manner of
Condition Limitation or other Matter to Alter or Deter-
mine the Same And that the Said Samuel Edsall his heirs
and Assigns Shall hold and enjoy the one sixt part of all the
Said premises without the Lawful Let or Eviction of him the
Said John Edsall his heirs or Assigns or any persons or per-
sons lawfully Claiming by from or under him or them or any
of them or of the lawful Claim of any person or persons
What so Ever, and freed and Indemnified Against all for-
mer or other Charges and Incumberances what so ever made
and Committed or to be made and Committed Done ol
Suffered by the Said John Edsall or his heirs or of any
person or persons having or Lawfully Claiming or to Claim
by from or under him them or any of them
In Witness Whereof the Said John Edsall and Mary his
Wife have to these presents Set their hands and Seals the
Day and Year first Above Written.
Sealed and Delivered )
In presence of [ John Edsall
Naomi Edsell | Mary Edsall
Catharine Edsall J
Be it Remembered that on the Sixth Day of April in
the year of our Lord one Thousand Eight Hundred & one
personly appeared before me Jacob Terheun, one of the
Judges of the inferior Court of Common Pleas of the County
of Bergen John Edsall and Mary Edsall the Within Grant-
ors and acknowledged that they Signed Sealed and De-
livered the within ensterment of Writing to be their
Volinteer act and Deed for the use and purposes
therein mentioned, and the Mary Was Examined apart
from her husband and Did acknowledge that She Signed
80 THE EDSALL PAPERS.
Volintierly Without any Treats or Compultion from her said
husband acknowledged before me Jacob Terheun.
Received in the office & Recorded the 6th Day of April
1801 in Book N of Deeds folio 24 & 25.
N. Wade. Clerk.
Quite a difference between then and now.
This was a tax bill of Naomi Edsall's:
Rec'd Neyork Feby 1st 1816 from Mr. Rinier Worten-
dyke eight 58/ 100 Dollars for County and State taxes ob
House Corn'r White & Chapel S. for the year 1815. —
County, 5.8
State 3.50
$8.58
William Berrian, Coll'r.
In all probability the following was a direct war tax au-
thorized by Congress to help pay the expenses of the Second
war with Great Britain. From the illegible chirography it it
questionable whether the two-wheeled carriage was called
a chair or chaise:
Carriage Certificate.
No. 40 — Yearly rate of Two dollars.
This is to certify that Naomy Edsall of the township of
Hackensack, in the county of Bergen in the First collection
district of New Jersey, has paid the duty of
Two dollars, for one year to end on the 3 1 st day of
December next, for and upon a Two wheel carriage, called
a Chair
owned by the said Naomi Edsall and the harness used
therefor
This certificate to be of no avail any longer than the
aforesaid carriage shall be owned by the said Naomy Ed-
sall, unless said certificate shall be produced to a collector,
and an entry be made thereon, specifying the name of the
tfien owner of said carriage and the time when he became
THE EDSALL PAPERS. 81
possessed thereof. Given in conformity with the laws of the
United States, this 25 th day of Oct. 1816.
Joh Johnson D'py
Collector of the Revenue for the first
Collection District, New Jersey.
Received this 27th day of Nov'm 1816, from John Ed-
tall the Sum of Eight Dollars and 25 cents for the Direct
Tax of 1816, upon his property in the Township of Hack-
ensack, in the First Collection District in the State of New-
Jersey.
John Johnson Collector for the 1 st.
Collection District, New- Jersey
$8.25 Cts.
What was paid for grandfather's clock eighty years ago.
Guarantee was somewhat longer then than now:
Rec'd 8th. Feb. 1822 of Mrs. Naomi Edsall the sum
of sixty five dollars in full for a clock which I hereby war-
rant for the term of Seven years from this date.
Ab'm House.
There are several more papers in this collection but
none others of immediate interest to the Society.
Samuel Edsall was born in Reading, Berkshire Co., Eng-
land, in 1 630 ; learned the hatter's trade there, and came
to America in 1655. He married Jannetje Wessels, who
was a belle of New Amsterdam and who lived with her
mother on Pearl Street. He was a man of prominence and
did much for the development of New Amsterdam. His
children were Ann, 1656; Judith, 1658; John, 1660; a
second Ann, Julia and Richard. John setded near the
Hudson River on his father's property, and the Edsalls at
Morsemere are his descendants. As shown by above deed,
Nicolas Varlet was his partner in the venture. Apparently
Edsall setded on his property immediately, since a good
82 THE EDSALL PAPERS.
deal k said of his constructive work and his prominence in
local affairs for the next 21 years. In 1689 he moved
back to New Amsterdam, or New York as it was then
called, and became a partisan of Gov. Leisler. Ten years
later he moved to what is now Queens County, Long Island,
where he died.
IHE POLIFLY ROAD.
By Burton H. Allbee.
In the legends of New England the story is told that
Washington Street, Boston's principal thoroughfare, follows
the windings of a path over which the cattle at one time
wended their way to drink. It is well understood how
these paths turn and tvvist in an effort to avoid knolls and
hillocks and how they dodge this obstruction or that. As
generation after generation of cattle or other animals wore
the path wide and smooth the builders of the original vil-
lage on the present site of Boston adopted it as the street
along which they constructed their first houses. But never
dreaming that Boston would one day be a big city they failed
to straighten the path as they built. Those who followed
after forgot to do it, and now the business houses of a com-
mercial city follow the turns and twists of those cattle who
early went to the woods and back from one of the first homes
Boston ever saw.
If tradition may be trusted the Polifly Road was not a
cattle path, but an Indian trail. Starting from somewhere
above what is now Hackensack this trail led along the hill-
side toward the ocean at the Kill von Kull. It passed
through the woods, and alongside what was then undoubt-
edly water and finally lost itself in forests which formerly
covered the meadows below what is now Rutherford. It
may have wound around the hillside and passed across the
flats at what is now Kingsland. Or it may have gone even
further and eventually found its way to or across the Pas-
saic River. At any rate, it was here when the white man
came, and he adopted it as one of the principal roadways
of the early years of Bergen County.
84 THE POLIFLY ROAD.
Where did it get its name? There are various theories
as to that, but it must be admitted by anyone who stops to
think of the subject at all that it has a strangely Dutch
sound. That last syllable, fly, is the Dutch word for willow,
the same as it is in Tenafly and in other words with the same
termination. It has been said by some that it was named
from an encampment of the Polfly Indians on the ridge
where Hasbrouck Heights is located now, but Indians v/ould
scarcely call themselves fly. The name or its origin is more
or less obscure and deserves more consideration than has yet
been given it.
Assuming, however, that it is probably of Dutch origin,
there is ample reason for the fly betokening willow. All
along the road are scattered willows and many bleaching
stumps indicate that there has been more than are now grow-
ing. At least one house is called the Polifly homestead,
and possibly from this the road may have taken its name.
More likely, though, the homestead was called Polifly from
the road. It seems probable that the road was there first.
It was one of the earliest roads in Bergen County. Ex
tending from Hackensack, the first Dutch settlement, to
Kingsland, an English settlement in the southern part of the
county, taking in on the way the settlements at what is now
Rutherford and connecting by means of cross roads with the
English Neighbourhood on one side of the county and what
is now Lodi, and so on to Aquakanonk, now Passaic, on
the other, it was an important thoroughfare. The early set-
tlers must have used it freely. The probability is that few
roads in the county were more important. Even though
the English Neighbourhood was one of the first good roads
m the county, there is every reason to believe that the Polifly
Road was laid out and in use long before the English Neigh-
borhood had become as important as it was during the Revo-
lution.
Beginning at Essex Street in Hackensack and going south
the road has a number of interesting historic buildings still
left standing. The Brinkerhoff homestead on Essex Street
is one of them. Though situated a bit off the line of the
THE POLIFLY ROAD. 8g
Polifly Road, this house deserves to be included in the group
which was built about that time. Some were earlier, but this
one dates back to I 704 and is now in a good state of preser-
vation.
In the corner where Essex Street crosses the Polifly Road,
or Terrace Avenue, as it is known, stands a stone house
which is known as the Demarest place. It has stood about
the same length of time as the Brinckerhoff homestead,
though recent remodellings have destroyed much of its an-
cient appearance, while with the former structure an effort
was made to emphasize those features which made it typical
of the early day. The property upon which the Demarest
house stands has recently been made into building lots, and
eventual!)' the picturesque stone house will fall a prey to the
mania for improvement which has caused the destruction of
so many of the historic homesteads of the county.
If there were any more stone houses for a half mile or
more they have disappeared. Nothing appears in any of
the records v/hich indicates that they ever existed. Accord-
ingly it is assumed that no buildings of a historic character
existed before the stone house known as the Polifly home-
stead is reached. A.nd not all of that is historic. The
mam portion of the house and one of the ells is compara-
tively modern, though probably well toward two hundred
years old. The other ell is older and bears evidence of be-
mg among the old structures of the county. This house is
interestmg because it represents in probably the best form
in the county the custom of building an ell and living in it
for a time, then constructing a large main part, retaining the
ell as a kitchen, and later building another ell in case one
of the children married and preferred to live at home. This
house has been kept in excellent condition and is good for
two more centuries of daily use.
A little farther down stands an old building which prob-
ably should be ranked among the early ones. It has all the
characteristics of a Dutch homestead of the earhest date,
though who built it and who occupied it at that time is un-
certain. The ell is built of the rough stones from the field.
86 THE POLIFLY ROAD.
and the dirt from about the house mixed with water wa»
used as mortar. The house is not well cared for and is fall-
ing to ruin. 1 he ell is already crumbhng, and before many
years only a pile of stones will mark the place where this
excellent specimen of Dutch architecture stands.
A short distance below is another which has been restored
and the beautiful brovm stone has been painted a sickly
yellow. The building is substantial and is good for many
years to come.
The next building was originally one of the De Kype
houses and is in a good strte of preservation. And the site
of the original De Kype house, now burned and every
vestige of even the stone removed, is where stood one of the
oldest houses in Bergen County. It dated back to 1 680, or
thereabouts, and was a splendid specimen of Dutch archi-
tecture.
It is some distance before another stone house is found.
There are two within the limits of Hasbrouck Heights, one
on one side of the road and one on the other, indicating that
they might have been erected by brothers or settlers who
came to this country together.
From there to Rutherford there are half a dozen more,
some on one side, some on the other, some of the early type
and some of the later, but all bearing evidence of advanced
age. They are all Dutch and unquestionably all were built
by the early settlers who made this road their highway.
Along this road marched Washington's men on their re-
treat from Fort Lee in 1776. And after them streamed
the British and Hessians, sweeping these homesteads clean
of everything they could carry away. And probably
throughout the struggle the bands of marauders and the
patriot armies marched and counter marched along this road.
It has seen all the vicissitudes of Indian warfare and the
flight and advance of the white man in his wars. And it
has seen a sturdy race grow up and build substantial homes
where once contending warriors marched and fought. It
18 historic. And it deserves in the years to come an ade-
THE POLIFL.Y ROAD. 8T
quate chronicle which shall give the detailed facts of the
early settlement and the later development as a thoroughfare
connecting important parts of the county.
While Washington did not retreat far along the road,
turning over the hill to Lodi, it is stated in diaries and letters
that there were straggling bands of both Americans and
British who went farther south before crossing the Passaic
River. It is even thought that some crossed at the Ennis
ferry below what is now Rutherford and that they passed
along this road in their flight to escape the wrath of the
king's hirehngs. Be that as it may, it is really not impossi-
ble and may explain some of the discrepancies in the story
of the retreat.
When passing over the road it is interesting to recall
its early origin and to remember that it was a principal thor-
oughfare probably centuries before the white man came and
that it lost none of its importance with his advent. Even
now it is one of the most traveled roads in the county, hav-
ing lost none of its importance, even though steam and elec-
tric railroads now gridiron the county with their tracks of
•teel. Much of life is connected with roads, and the his-
torian who can tell the story of the development of a road
can tell pretty nearly the development of the people who
lived alongside its sinuous length.
THE CHURCH AT ENGLISH NEIGHBOUR-
HOOD.
By B. F. Underwood, M. D.
The early settlers of New Jersey were a religious folk.
As soon almost as two or three families were gathered to-
gether in a new settlement their thoughts turned toward the
erection of a place of worship, though it were nothing more
than an unpretentious structure of rough-hewn logs built
after the fashion of their own houses.
Although the first settlement in New Jersey, at Bergen,
dates back to 1616, it was for a considerable time little
more than a trading post in the wilderness, and it was not
until 1658, when the Notable Lord Director General of the
Province of The New Netherlands, the Hon. Peter Stuy-
vesant, Peter the Headstrong, and his Council purchased
from the Indian owners the tract of land extending from
Wiehacken to the Kill von Col and from the Hudson to
the Hackensack, that the "Towne" took on a permanent
character. A few years later, in 1 663, the inhabitants
agreed to be taxed for the maintenance of a place of wor-
ship, and in 1 664 the first church in New Jersey was con-
stituted and the first church building erected, a rude struc-
ture probably of logs. This was used until 1 680, when the
first regular church edifice was erected. This was of stone,
octagonal in form, with pews around the walls, which were
solely occupied by the men and boys, while the remainder of
the floor was covered with chairs for the women and girls.
A belfry rose from the roof, and when ringing the bell the
sexton ctood in the centre of the church.
This church for many years supplied the religious needs
of the "Town and the villages and plantations thereunto
belonging." It was not until a hundred years later, in
90 THE CHURCH AT ENGLISH NEIGHBOURHOOD.
1 763, that, feeling the need of a more convenient church,
the inhabitants of Teaneck and the Enghsh Neighbourhood
united in constituting a church at the Enghsh Neighbourhood,
and the following year the church building was erected.
The site of this edifice it is now impossible to locate with
accuracy, but it was on or near the hne of the old Albany
Post Road, now Grand Avenue, near to the dividing line
between the Boroughs of Palisades Park and Leonia. This
was used until after the beginning of the War of the Revo-
lution and the retreat of the American army from Fort Lee,
when the English Neighbourhood became practically British
territory, and the services were perforce indefinitely post-
poned. The church building, tradition says, was used for a
time as a barrack for the Hessian soldiers and the interior
practically destroyed.
At the close of the war the building had fallen into ruin,
the congregation was scattered, and it was not until 1 792
that the church was started anew. The records of the
church from its constitution in I 763 to 1 776 were burned
by the British or Hessian troops so that the existing records
begin in 1 792, with a plan for the building of a new church
edifice.
"Plan for Building the Dutch Reformed Church of
Enghsh Neighbourhood in the County of Bergen and State
of New Jersey.
"Whereas — The Elders and Deacons of the Reformed
Dutch Church of the County of Bergen and State of New
Jersey, having long seen the necessity of having a place of
public worship, having by consent, and it also appearing to
be their right, thought it most beneficent to the said congre-
gation to pull down the old church, have laid a plan to build
and erect a new one in a more proper place, and,
"Whereas — It has pleased the omnipotent disfKJser of
public events to bless this land with peace and plenty, and
we also, wishing harmony in said congregation, having the
advice of our minister and the congregation in general in the
fear of the Lord, to proceed in building the said church ac-
cording to the following plan:
THE CHURCH AT ENGLISH NEIGHBOURHOOD. 91
"I. — The place proposed to be on the Point Field west
of an apple tree, and according to the following dimensions,
viz: 40 feet by 22 feet long and with two gallerys.
"II. — The stone and lumber to be brought on the ground
free gratis, and no money to be paid or laid out unless it
be for 'meteriels" until the carpenter and mason's work is
begun.
"III. — The following persons are appointed 'Mennegers
Mess. Corn, Vreeland, Garrett Banta, John WiHiams,
John Day, Romeo Earl and Sam'l Edsall, whose business
it shall be to engage workmen and laborers, procure 'me-
teriel,' superintend the work and do everything necessary to
promote said building.
"IV. — The congregation shall immediately take in vol-
untary subscriptions in order to defray expenses of building.
The money subscribed in to be in two equal payments, viz;
the first at the time of subscribing, the second when the
roof of the new church is raised.
"V. — After the church is finished the pews shall be
divided into convenient seats, except as many free seats for
strangers as the 'Mennegers' shall think proper, and also
Elder and Deacon's pews and a pew for the minister's
family. The said seats shall, after due notice given at an
appointed time and place, be disposed of at a pubhc auc-
tion, and the several subscribers shall have credit for all
moneys by them subscribed, provided they purchase to the
amount of money so subscribed.
"VI. — In seats or pews. If any person shall become
heir to, or shall purchase from another any of the said seats,
and shall not apply within one year and one day after such
purchase or obtaining of such right or legacy, to have such
seat transcribed, they shall be deemed the property of the
congregation, and the church masters have the right to sell
them. The price for transcribing shall be 4 shilHngs, N. Y.
currency, per seat."
Among the meteriels purchased by the mennegers in the
building of the church were sundry gallons of rum for the
92 THE CHURCH AT ENGLISH NEIGHBOURHOOD.
workmen and laborers, rum in those days being as good as
coin of the realm in the payment of wages.
The highest price realized from the sale of the pews was
£25, 2 s., the total amounting to £215, 5 s. The cost
of building the church was £l ,292, I 5 s.
The walls of the present church at Ridgefield, which re-
main as originally built, were constructed from the stone in
the walls of the first church building and which were, doubt-
less brought to the grounds "free gratis." When the build-
ing was completed the doors were secured with a massive
lock, the key of which was large enough to have served St.
Peter, being a foot in length.
It is difficult in these days of religious tolerance to reaHze
how closely the church was connected with the daily life
of the people of the olden time and how important a part
it took in the ordering of their conduct. The church or the
consistory regulated and governed the community, and the
so-called blue-laws of New Jersey were the direct outcome
of the rules and regulations of the church.
The early records of the church are replete with the ac-
count of happenings which show how the consistory sat in
judgment upon the members of the church for violations of
its rules, and which read like the proceedings of a court. It
would seem from a perusal of these ancient records that each
member of the church took a solemn delight in discovering
and exposing some dereliction of a brother member and in
bringing him to book therefore. From the many instances
recorded the following are selected as showing the spirit of
the time and the manner in which various offences were
dealt with.
Among the other duties required of a church member was
that he, with all his household, should be present at each
service on Sunday unless he were physically unable to do so,
failure to perform this duty being punished by a fine. Upon
one occasion the head of a family at English Neighbourhood
having been absent from the service upon a particular Sun-
day, a committee was appointed to visit him and ascertain the
why and wherefore.
THE CHURCH AT ENGLISH NEIGHBOURHOOD. 98
The committee having made an investigation, thereupon
reported: That having visited the brother against whom
the charge had been made, they found that during the
previous week he had made a visit to the city (New York)
and had fallen into evil company, had looked upon the wine
when it was red, had, in fact, gone in the way of the un-
godly, and had returned home in a general disreputable
condition with sundry bruises and discolorations upon his
countenance, so that he was not in a fit condition to attend
service. Whereupon the consistory sitting as a court of jus-
tice, fined him ten shillings and suspended him from the
church for six months.
Members were also fined for fast driving on Sunday, for
laboring on the Sabbath and sundry like offences, the favor-
ite sum being ten shillings. Attendance upon the church
service was an onerous duty in those days, for it was an all
day affair, the members often coming a long distance and
after the morning service with a sermon of interminable dura-
tion remaining for another of equal duration in the after-
noon. They brought with them a supply of provisions for
the noon meal as well as provender for the horses. The
amount of food to be provided for the noonday meal was
duly regulated by the consistory, there being so much bread,
so much meat and other viands, as well as so much beer,
allowed for each person. So much was necessary; excess
of this was gluttony, and punished with the usual fine.
The cemetery adjoining the church was laid out at about
the time the church was built and contains the graves of
many of the early residents of the English Neighborhood.
The tombstones of the first of those to be buried here have
been disintegrated by the storms and sunshine of the many
years that have gone since they were set up, and the inscrip-
tion can no longer be read. The oldest of those yet standing
was erected in August, 1 799, in memory of John Johnson,
aged 47. And near by is one set up in September, 1 799, in
memory of William Scott, who died of Yellow Fever at the
age of 27.
94 THE CHURCH AT ENGLISH NEIGHBOURHOOD.
Many of the older stones, in addition to the name of the
deceased and the record of birth and death, have carved
upon them the quaint epitaphs of the olden time, a few of
which are quoted:
From a tombstone of I 799 :
Remember me as you pass by.
As you are now so once was I,
As I am now, so you will be.
Prepare for death and follow me
Of 1801:
The sweet remembrance of the just
Shall flourish when they sleep in dust.
Of 1805:
We read this monument and sigh.
And while we sigh we sink.
And are what we deplored.
Of 1806:
The world is vain and full of pain.
With grief and trouble sore.
But they are blest that are at rest
With Christ forever more.
Of 1821:
This friend of Truth and peace
Has left a world of woe;
Gone to the LAMB above.
He followed here below.
Our friends depart and we are sad.
But Truth remains to make us glad.
Deny me not this little spot
My wearied limbs to rest,
I hope to rise in glad surprise,
And be forever blest.
NECROLOGY.
Mr. V/illiam Osborn Labagh, treasurer of this Society,
died at his home in Hackensack on Dec. 18, 1907. He
was Lorn in New York City in 1 838 and grew up there, as
had his father and grandfather. He knew the city in other
days when 23d street vvas away uptown and East Broad-
way the home of men renowned far and wide. He became
a member of the old volunteer fire department, being the
third generation of his family who had been members. In
1 863 he enlisted in the Union army and was stationed in
Virginia. In 1 854 he married Miss Henrietta Hill, who
with four sons and one daughter survive him. He was in-
terested in the salt business and for years was an importer
In 1874 he moved to Hackensack and was appointed post-
master by President Harrison during his first term. He was
one of the organizers of this Society and was ever ready to
work whenever needed.
The following resolutions adopted by the Bergen County
Historical Society were read at the services:
Hackensack, December 21st, 1907.
The Historical Society of Bergen County, recognizing its
loss in the death of one of its most active members, William
O. Labagh, in tender memory of his generous co-operative
work and sincerest sympathy with his bereaved family, are
desirous of manifesting their appreciation of his labors in
its behalf and their admiration of his character. To this
end, therefore, this Society
Resolves, That in the decease of William O. Labagh,
not alone the Society, but the community of Hackensack,
has lost a member, whose life for more than thirty years
has been one long struggle for the improvement and the good
of those who were fortunate enough to enjoy his fellowship
or come within the sphere of his influence.
96 NECROLOGY.
In the prime of manhood, forty-five years ago, he aban-
doned all other considerations and sprang to the cause of
freedom, by becoming a soldier of the Union in the Civil
War.
In his maturer years, a grateful government gave him
charge of its postal matters in Hackensack, and his admin-
istration gave such satisfaction that his commission was re-
nevv^ed to the entire content of his fellow citizens.
Since his retirement for more than ten years he has de-
voted quietly but continuously his energies, to all the best
interests of his home, his county, his country as God gave
him to see the needs of each and all.
A good father, a faithful husband, an intelligent citizen,
a public servant who served, a veteran with undiminished
zeal through life for his fellow men, he deserved the Epitaph
of Plinius:
"Who died full of years and honor, equally distinguished
by those he refused and those he accepted."
If, as Cicero said to the Ancient World: "The Hfe
of the dead, arises from being present in the minds of the
living," then does the society realize how serious a loss it has
sustained and feels authorized to express its sympathy to his
family.
This they do, in the spirit of modern Christian regard,
suggesting to all, the significance of the thought, which is as
old as Terentius, who expressed it, when he said:
"They best mourn the dead who live as they desire."
Byron G. Van Horne,
President.
Francis C. Koehler,
Secretary.
W. D. Snow,
Chairman of the Committee on Resolutions.
Papers
and
Proceedings
1908-1909-1910
Numbers Five and Six
Bergen County
Historical Society
Papers and Proceedings
OF
The Bergen County Historical Society
908-1909-1910
NUMBERS FIVE AND SIX
Secretary's Report, 1 908- 1 909- 1910.
Old Land Lines in Hackensack,
Ancient Dutch Architecture,
Over Our Northern Border,
Historical Clippings, - - .
Changes, - - - .
Early Legislation )
Affecting Bergen County, f
Historic Maps, - _ .
Necrology.
In Memoriam.
Membership Roll
Burton H. Allbee
George J. Ackerman
Burton H. Allbee
Theophilus N. Glover
Frances A. Weslervelt
Hon. David D. Zabriskie
Hon. Edmund W. Wakelce
H. B. Goetschius
A MOAfEXT WITH THE SECRETARY.
It is two years since a book was printed. Last year's
pnblication was omitted because the executive commit-
tee, in the state of the finances deemed it unwise to
incur the expense. This year's publication is, therefore,
for two years, 1908 and icpg.
]i\en with this the publicatit)n committee had diffi-
cuhy in obtainiiig another and only witliin the past two
weeks lias the book been sent to press. While it is
recognized that in some ways such haste is undesirable
in others there are certain features which commend
themselves in such rapid work. It is at least fresh and
alive.
The usual secretary's report is a dry alTair. limited
to such statements of bare facts as are essential for mem-
bers of the Society to know. This one may be largely
the same, but it is necessary to say something about the
Society and its work.
The annual meeting of 1908 was held in the Elks*
Club House, with a good attendance. The members and
their guests sat down to an excellent dinner and after-
ward listened to the subjoined list of excellent addresses
and papers :
■"Welcome" President Byron G. \'an Home
"Changes" Hon. David D. Zabriskie
"Woman and Her Power to ]\Iake History,"
J. Spencer Smith
"Early Legislation for Bergen County."
Hon. Edmund W. Wakelee
"(iood Citizenship" Dan Eellows Piatt
"Historical Resume" Theophilus N. Glover
The work of the year was confined to meetings in a
few places. Mr. .Mlbee's pictures of historic buildings
continued in demand and he gave his talk several times,
each time to interested audiences. The various commit-
tees performed their work with considerable enthusiasm
and the alreadv valuable collections of the Societv were
SECRETARY'S REPORT
materially enhanced. There was a g-reat deal of good
work (lone, and many persons learned of the Society's
work who were previously unfamiliar with it. The
membership increased as compared with the previous
vear.
The annual meeting of 1909 marked the close of
another successful year. There were fewer meetings,
hut the work was carried forward by interested members
and the various committees, assisted whenever requests
were made by the committees and others. 'I'hc incor-
poration of the Societ}' and its establishment ujjon a i:)er-
manent basis atTorded opportunity for a somewhat dif-
ferent class of work, and that was done continuously and
elTectively.
( )ne of the most important features of the work of
that vear was the beginning of a county map by H. P).
(loetschius upon which shouUl he marked the princijial
historic sites. .\ tentative map was prepared and a num-
ber of sites so marked. This work has since been ex-
tended, the map has been enlarged. Elsewhere in this
edition of the Year I'ook ^\r. (ioetschius tells the story
himself and makes a ]:)lea for assistance which is com-
mended to the attention of all members.
Some valuable contributions \o the Society's collec-
tions were made, among them being a vohune of The
[ournal, an old news]x\per which was ]^resented by E. K.
r>ird. Mr. T')m-t(^n It. .\lll)ee ])resented his large collec-
tion of ne\\s])ai)er cli]')iMngs. i)robably 10,000 or more.
man\- of them about Tergen county, to the Society for
its librarw
The work in the genealogical field b}- Afrs. Erances
A. ^Vestervelt deserves the highest commendation. She
has a large number of names on her records and has
been of great assistance t(^ a good many searchers for
genealogical information.
The reports of the sianding committees, the elect,ion
of officers, the rece])tion of guests accupied the attention
for a time after which the visitors repaired to the ban-
quet hall where an excellent dinner was served, following
SECRETARY'S REPORT 7
which there were papers, juhh-esses. readiniis and soiii^s.
Invocation Rev. Samuel K. Doolittle
"Welcome" President Willian'i 1). Snow
Address jud,t;e W". I I. Sj)eer
"The Centenary of njot; is World Wide."
James A. h^airley
"Historical Accuracy" \\'illiani A. l.inn
Readino-s Joseph C. Lincoln
Song-s Mrs Ann I'.rohel
Death has taken a lunnlx-r during- the \ear which has
closed, all of whom are dul\- recorded on the memorial
pag-e. lUit especial reference should be- made here to
Col. William 1). Snow, a charter member, long- a mem-
ber of the ot^cial board and president in i()o8 and 1909.
He was a most enthusiastic member and a hard worker
in the cause of the Society. His advice and counsel will
be missed and his death is deeply deplored Iw the entire
Society.
Abram C. Iloldrum. a charier meml)ei of the Societ\-.
and for a mnnber of years a member of the executive
committee, passed away during- the year just closed.
The secretary's work is now done for this year and
he lays down his pen with a sense of satisfaction because
of the work accomplished and assures the members that
the prospects for the future are exceptionally promising.
He wants to thank most heartily all who have so
kindly assisted him in his work during the past two
years. They have contributed materially to what the
Society is doing.
OLD LAND LINES IN HACKENSACK.
By George J. Ackennaii.
In undertaking to describe the situation as it ap-
peared about 1695, at the time when John Berry held
a land claim to the whole of Hackensack, it will be neces-
sary for the reader to bear in mind that the original lines
and boundaries of property can not now be as clearly
defined and located as they could at that time. The
boundaries then between adjacent property owners were
designated by "marked trees" and "fences as they then
stood." regardless of angles, but simply by the cardinal
points of the compass, and distances as extending from
one point to another. This, in all probability, answered
every purpose and was just as satisfactory to our fore-
fathers, as the more complex and intricate courses and
angles as developed by the modern instruments of the
surveyor, do for us of the present day.
In the latter part of the Seventeenth century, John
Berdan, or as he signed his name, "jan bar Dan" came
to Hackensack from New Amersfort (now Gravesend)
Long Island and purchased from John Berry (supposed
in 1697) a tract of land in the centre of the town extend-
ing from the Hackensack river on the east, to the Saddle
River on the west ; its extent along Main street, as near
as can be determined, was from the north line of the lot
on which stands Dunn Brothers store, to Camden street
covering a frontage of about 528 feet, or about eight
chains, which width it is supposed to have maintained
until it reached Saddle River, a short distance north of
the New York, Susquehanna & Western railroad at Ro-
chelle Park. The frontage on the Hackensack river
was probably the same as that on Main street. Jan Ber-
dan, during his lifetime, must have acquired considerable
more property than the above tract which he purchased
from John Berry. Lie was at the time he located here
about twent3'-eight or thirty years of age ; genealogical
10 OLD LAND LINES IN HACKENSACK
records tell us "that he arrived in this country from Hol-
land in the latter part of the Seventeenth century with
his father and mother, probably about 1681 or 1682, and
settled at Flatlands, Long- Island. His mother died some
time after ; his father married a second time, and had two
daughters by the second wife." 1 1 is reported that John,
jr., and his step-mother did not agree very well, and he
"left home with an axe and spade, and settled in Hacken-
sack." He married twice. His first wife was Eva Van
Sickelen, whom he married May 20, 1693, by whom he
had at least ten children, (historical records say twelve).
On November 6. 1733, he married a second time
Vrouwtje \^an Dien, a widow, and it is supposed he had
several children by the second marriage. It is stated that
he gave each of his sons (of whom he had no less than
seven) a farm, and started them all in Bergen county.
Be this as it may, it is certain that the Berdan heirs
owned at one time a large area of real estate which ex-
tended from Salem street north on ]\Iain street to a
point in line with Berry street if it were continued
through to Main, which would be about the north line
of the property of Hutchison and Andrus, extending
from the Hackensack river on the east, to the Saddle
river on the west. On the lot where now stands the
house of John D. Baldwin was the original homestead of
Henry Berdan, a grandson of Jan Berdan and Eva Van
Sickelen — a little old stone house, as I remember it, one
story and attic high. It was demolished about 1853. He
owned a farm extending back over the hill to the Voll,
which embraced the land lying between James street
Cwith extension through to Camden street) and Berry
street. He was an officer in the Revolutionary war, was
born August T, 1751, and died March 25, 1849, in his
ninety-eighth year. His remains are buried in the]
abandoned and neglected cemetery on Hudson street. He
married Elsie Ackerman. a daughter of Abraham Acker-
man and Maria Bogert.
Henry Berdan's father's name was John (a grandson
of the original Jan). His mother's maiden name was
Christyntie Van Giesen. They were married May 12,
1738, and had issue:
OLD LAND LINES IN HACKENSACK 11
Jan, bpt. Feb. 22, 1739. m. Maricha Banta.
Sarah, bpt. Dec. 14, 1740; m. Paulns \^anderbeek.
Hendrick, bpt. Nov. 7, 1742; d. sg.
Evaetje, bpt. Aug. 11, 1745; m. Jacobus Makolgh.
Isaac, bpt. Nov. 26, 1747; m. Christina Banta.
Marritje, bpt. Feb. 15, 1750.
Hendrick, born Aug. i, 175 1 ; m. Elsie Ackerman.
Cornelia, br. Jan. 14, 1755.
Elsie Ackerman was baptized at Schraalenburg, Dec.
25. 1759; she was a daughter of Abraham Ackerman and
Maria Bogert ; was married to Henry Berdan about
1777-78, and they had issue as follows:
Jan, born Alar. 2, 1779.
Isaac, born Nov. 3, 1781.
Hendrick, born May i, 1787.
Alaria, born Apr. 22, 1791.
And supposed another daughter, who married
Banks ; they had. one child named Francis Banks.
Maria married Bartow ; supposed his christian
naiue was James. They had a son Henry B. Bartow.
One of the male issue had a daughter x\daline Dru-
cilla Berdan, who married George W. Burrall.
Henry Berdan left a will dated May, 1848. probated
and allowed April 9, 1849, i" which he specifies "that
the proceeds of his estate be appropriated to the pur-
chase of a suitable tombstone for his grave, and the
balance if any to be divided between his grandsons,
Henry B. Bartow and Francis Banks, and granddaughter
Adaline Drucilla, now the wife of George W. Burrall."
The will Avas witnessed by Daniel I. Aurianson, Barnev
J. Romaine and Simeon Zabriskie. The testator signed
with his mark.
Henry Berdan had two brothers, John and Isaac,
and according to the terms of their father's will they
each inherited one-third of the real estate ; hence, in the
division of the property we can easily trace Henry's
part from Hutchison and Andrus' lot to Camden
street, Isaac's part from Camden street to the
south line of the lot now owned by Dr. St. John
opposite the Presbyterian church and John's tract from
the latter point to Salem street. Each had a frontage on
12 OLD LAND LINES IN HACKENSACK
j\Iaiii street of about three hundred feet, and ran from
the Hackensack river to the Voll, or brook, over the
hill. Henry Berdan had a sister Sarah, who married
Paulus Vanderbeek. They resided in the old stone house
still standing on Moore street, known as the Vanderbeek
homestead, at present belonging to the New York and
New Jersey Telephone company. Of this old house
more will be said later. Isaac Berdan, the youngest of
the male issue of John Berdan and Christyntie Van Gie-
son, inherited the property from Camden street south on
Main street to "Garrison's line," which is the north line
of the property now owned b}' Freeman, opposite the
centre of the lot on which the Presbyterian church
stands, from the Hackensack river to the Voll. He was
also a soldier in the revolutionary war, a private in the
same compan}' of which his brother Henry was lieuten-
ant. He died Alay 7, 1828, aged eighty-one years, and
his wife died November 18, 1845, aged eighty- four years.
They are both buried in the churchyard on the Green.
The Johnson Library stands on a portion of this
property. Before Isaac's death he built a large house on
this property. He married Christina Banta, and they had
children as follows: John, Isaac (whom many remember
as uncle Isaac Berdan), Samuel, and one daughter, Efifie,
who married Ralph A^andalinda ; Samuel married Leah
Banta. He died quite young leaving one child, John S.
Berdan (who married Lavinia Demarest, and he died
without male issue) together with his imcle Isaac oc-
cupied the house spoken of above during their lifetime.
After their deaths the property was divided among the
heirs of each, and the old house was demolished. Hon.
William M. Johnson purchased the north half, and the
heirs of Christiana Berdan Conklin inherited the south
half.
Uncle Isaac Berdan, as he was familiarly called, was
born February 25, 1794; and died November 19, 1884.
He married Christina Winant; they had three children,
but only one lived to marry — Christiana, who became
Mrs. Albert E. Conklin.
The name of this branch of the Berdan family here
runs out and is changed to Conklin.
OLD LAND LINES IN HACKENSACK 13
John Berdan, the remaining- and eldest male heir of
Isaac Berdan and Cln-istvntie \'an Gieson, inherited the
propert}' with frontage on Alain street, extending from
the centre of the Presbyterian church lot south to Salem
street, and from the Hackensack river to the Voll. He
married Alaricha Banta, a daughter of Cornelius and
Rachel Banta. On May 9, 1772, he sold to Cornelius
Cooper, "a hatter," all of the property lying between
Salem street and the centre of the Presbyterian church
lot, from the meadows' edge to the foot of the hill, which
included the old stone house now standing at 226 Main
street, for "three hundred and eighty pounds current
money of the province of New York." It is reasonable
to suppose that this house was the original homestead
of the Berdan family. According to the deed dated as
above, and recorded in the county clerk's office at Hack-
ensack, it mentions the property as including "tene-
ments and barn thereon." So we are assured that the
house was there at that time (1772) and probably fifty
}ears prior to that time, but was no doubt much smaller
then than it is at present. The house and lot have
passed through the hands of several successive owners
since its purchase by Cooper in 1772. among whom
can be mentioned Dominie Solomon Froeligh. who held
possession from 1786 to 1792; Nehemiah Wade, and
then John Sloat, who in 1817 sold to Isaac A. Vander-
beek. who altered and enlarged the house, and in 1822
opened it as a tavern, which was maintained as such
until his death in 1852. It then fell by inheritance to his
daughter, Rachel R. (A'anderbeek) Ackerman, and from
the latter to her children, George J. Ackerman and Mary
(Ackerman) Groesbeck, the present owners.
In continuation of a further record of the children
of Jan Berdan and Eva Van Sickelen I Avould mention
David, the sixth son, baptized December 12, 1714: mar-
ried May 12, 1738, Christyntjen Romeyn, daughter of
Claes (Nicholas) Romeyn and Styntie Terhuyn. John,
the oldest son, w^as twenty-three when he married, while
David was twent>'-four. The latter was married one day
and the former the da}' following. Nicholas Jansen
Romeyn owned at one time the farm now belonging to
14 OLD LAND LINES IN HACKENSACK
heirs of the estate of Wilham S. Banta ; he also owned
a large tract of land extending from the brook, or Yoll.
to Saddle river, adjacent to that owned by Jan Berdan,
and no doubt his daughter Christyntjcn inherited a por-
tion of it. This, together with the portion David in-
herited from his father, formed the Berdan tract at May-
wood on which the original homestead of David Ber-
dan was built. It was situated near the present house
occupied by Taplin. built by his grandson, David, son of
John D. Berdan. It was afterward remodeled and oc-
cupied by James Berdan, who married Mary Worten-
dyke, and from whom Cornelius ^^^ Berdan is a de-
scendant.
Returning now to the time Jan Bardan first pur-
chased the property from John Berry in 1697, Ave -find
that he (Jan Bardan) "on June 9, 1708, sold to Paulus
A'anderbeek one equal half part, or moiety," of the said
farm described as follows : "comprising a tract of land
extending from the Hackensack river on the east, to the
Saddle river on the west, joining on the northeast side
to the land of the said Jan Bardan, on the southwest side
to the land of Guiliam Bertholf and John and Nicholas
Romeyn. The same to run from the Hackensack river
along the line of land of the said John Bardan unto
.Saddle river, and so along the said river until it comes
to the bounds of John Romeyn, thence along said bounds
till it comes over the run to the bounds of Nicholas
Romeyn, down along the line of Isaac Van Gieson and
Guiliam Bertholf to the Hackensack river, and so along
said river to the place where it began ; and also one-half
part or moiety of all the meadows adjoining said land" x
X X This property, as near as can be traced, had a
frontage on Main street, Hackensack, of about 150 feet,
extending from the north line of Salem street south to
the north line of the property formerly belonging to James
V. C. Romeyn, now Dunn Brothers. The frontage on the
river was probably much greater ; it expanded in width
as it extended westward ; at State street it was 200 feet
wide, at I'nion street 250 feet, and at Railroad avenue
it was 310 feet, and probably retained that width to the
Vol! : from the latter place to Saddle river it is supposed
OLD LAND LINES IN HACKENSACK 15
io have been four chains wide and covered with wood.
The only tillable ground was from the meadow's edge to
the Veil.
On February 20, 1715, Paulus \'anderbeek purchased
from Claes Janscn (Nicholas) Romeyn a tract of land
containing sixty acres for ninety pounds current money
of East N^ew Jersey adjoining on the south the portion
he already owned (or tiie ])ortion that he bought from
Tan Berdanj. which subsequent!}' became successively
the property of Rev. J. V. C. Romeyn. Henry H. Banta,
and at present is in possession of the heirs of the estate
of William S. Banta ; it extended from the north line of
Dunn Brothers' store to the south line of the plot as
formerly owned b}' Henr>- S. Banta. before the lot on
which the two stores of E. A. Pearce stand was taken
out of it, from Main street to the \^oll. He had now a
frontage on Main street of about 475 feet. He subse-
quently purchased 175 feet north of Salem street on the
west side extending through to Slate street, which gave
him a total frontage of 650 feet on the west side, while
that on the east side was 450 feet. The old stone
house, still standing and previously referred to, was
built by him some time prior to 1761. The property on
which it is situated is at present owned by the New-
York and New Jersey Telephone Company. The house
was occupied until recently (up to the time of her
death) b}- Aunt Sally Vanderbeek Haring (the name by
which she was familiarly known). She was a daughter
of Solomon F. A^anderbeek and Johanna A^andalinda. a
descendant in a direct line of the seventh generation
from Paulus A'anderbeek. the ancestor who arrived in
this country from Holland about 1658 and located at
Gowanus, Brooklyn. His grandson. Paulus. located at
Hackensack in 1708. The house spoken of above has a
tablet inserted in the chimney breast in the parlor which
gives the date A. D. 1717. ^^.B.. with initials I. V. D.
B. and E. A\ B., also those of his son. P. T. V. D. B., the
title of \\hich has remained in the name of Vanderbeek's
for two centuries.
The meaning Avhich the tablet is likely to convey is
rather uncertain. Paulus A'anderbeek, Isaac's trrand-
16 OLD LAND LINES IN HACKENSACK
father, boiig'lit the property in 1708. Isaac was not born
till 1712; at the time of the date on the tablet, viz, 1717,
he was only five years old, so he could not have built
the house, and Paul I. Vanderbeek was not born until
1737. So in my judgment the property that Paulus Van-
derbeek purchased from Jan Berdan had no house on it,
but that which he purchased from Nicholas Romeyn
either had one on it at the time of purchase (1715) or
he built one there himself, which stood Avhere Dunn
Brothers' store now stands, and was there as homestead
when James V. C. Romeyn bought the portion allotted to
Isaac A^anderbeek in the division of the estate of his
grandfather by commissioners appointed by the Orphan's
court on January 16, 1804. The deed says the dividing
line ran through the centre of the homestead, which was
no doubt then demolished.
Paulus Vanderbeek in his will (1761) stated that as
his grandson, "Paulus, son of Isaac, is already provided
for , he is not to participate in the division of his
estate after his decease." So it is reasonable to suppose
that he built the house now standing previous to 1760,
and gave it to him together with all the property on
the east side of Main street from the north line of the
property formerly belonging" to Guiliam Bertholf north
to Salem street. Hence I interpret the Vanderbeek
family first located here, at that time or probably built
the first house on the west side of the street, and I. V.
D. B., E. V. B., that Isaac and his sister Elsje built this
one, P. I. V. D. B. the one mentioned in the will as being
already provided for, who probably was the last one to
remodel it. Paul I. Vanderbeek married Sarah Berdan
Sept. II, 1760, (a daughter of Henry Berdan and Elsie
Ackerman) previously spoken of; he had seven chil-
dren, who were all born in the old homestead; among
them was Solomon F. Vanderbeek, being the youngest,
who married Johanna Vandalinda. I remember him
well. He was a shoemaker and had a little shop on Main
street a little north of the People's National Bank. He
made several pairs of shoes for me when I was a boy.
He had six children, none of whom are living. Sarah,
Ihe last one of the family died three years ago. He in-
OLD LAND LINES IN HACKENSACK 17
hcrited the homestead from his father; he and his wife
both died there and they are buried in the church yard
near the Green. The house is in a good state of preser-
vation, and is at present occupied by some of the de-
scendants of the ^'anderbcck family, though of a dififer-
ent name.
A Bergen Acker-Man.
In compiHng a short sketch of the Berdan and Van- '
derbeek famiHes perhaps it might interest some to know
something about the old stone house, now standing in
Essex street, occupied by John S. Mabon. This house
is among the oldest now standing and occupied in the
state of New Jersey.
The builder of this ancient house was Abraham Ack-
erman, formerly written Acker-Man, whose initials, with
those of his two sons, are cut in the stones forming a
portion of the eastern wall of the house, together with
the symbols of husbandry, viz. : a plough and a spinning
wheel, with the date Anno 1704.
Abraham Ackerman was the fourth son and young-
est child of David Ackerman and Lysbet (surname un-
known) ; he was born May 15, 1659, in Berlicum, prov-
ince of North Brabant (Bois Le Due), Holland. He
married at Flatbush, May 28. 1683, Aeltje Van Laer,
y. d. (that is; a young daughter or unmarried), of Bed-
ford, L. I. She was born May 12, 1663, baptized at
Kingston, N. Y.. April 25, 1666. The former was re-
ceived into the Dutch Reformed church, on the Green,
October 3, 1696, and Aeltje, his wife, on January 3,
1697. Abraham Ackerman, together with his father
and mother, two sisters and three brothers (eight per-
sons in all), came over to this country from Amster-
dam in the ship Fox and arrived at New Amsterdam
on September 2. 1662. They resided for a time in
the Marktveldt stegge. or Marketfield street, near the
site of the old fort, the present Battery. The above-
named street still remains ; it runs from 72 Broad street
westward to the rear of the Produce Exchange. It is
a sort of blind street or alley, lying about twenty feet
18 OLD LAND LINES IN HACKENSACK
south of and parallel to Beaver street ; it is about thirty
feet wide and two hundred feet long. There was found
just below it, a few years since, in making some excava-
tions, the hull of a small Dutch vessel — such as were
in use in the seventeenth century and of so slight a draft
that it could come up the old waterway, which is now
Broad street, and upon which this Marketfield street
opened.
Valentine's history of Xew ^'ork. pubiis'.ied in 1853.
says "that Jonas Barteltzeii, a storekeeper, occupied
premises on the east side of W'hitehall street, between
Stone and Marketfield streets, in 1665, and that Lysbeth
Ackerman occupied a small house adjoinino- that of Mr.
Barteltzen's. The street known as Marketfield street
was originally called the oblique road, and afterwards,
upon the street being named, was designated as the
"Marketfield steegie."
Abraham Ackerman and wife (Aeltje Van Laer)
had fourteen children, two of whom died young. None
of them were born in the house on Essex street, but all
of the daughters, of whom there were no less than six,
were undoubtedly married there. Lawrence Ackerman,
who lived at Jersey City Heights (and who recently
died) was the possessor of an oil painting of Abraham
Ackerman, representing him as ploughing in the field.
On the back of the picture is inscribed in Dutch the
following invocation :
Abram Ackerman Geboor don I.t May, Anno 16.in.
O God. leest my myn daaen tellen
Er de doot Voor Oogen Stellen.
Hoe can een Ackerman bestaan?
Daar geen zon en schynt sterren en de niaan,
Hou de ouden vader wet bedogen,
Hon God voor oogen,
Leef vroom, en D. O. D. D.
"Denk om de Dood."
The following is a translation of the above:
Abraham Ackerman, born ]May 15th, Anno Domini 1659.
O Lord, teach me to count my days and to keep the death be-
fore my eyes :
How conld an Ackerman tlirive if theie was no sunlif>ht. or
without the stars or the moon?
The hiw of our forefathers is just as necessary;
Keep the Lord before your eyes.
Live piously, and think on the Angel of Death.
AX'CIENT DUTCH ARCHITECTURE.
By Burton H. Allbee.
Unique among- the architecture of the United States
the ancient Dutch houses of New Jersey stand as monu-
ments of the sturdiness and thoroughness of their
builders. Constructed of stone from 250 to 300 years
ago they are representative of the Dutch character and
are models for modern architects, if they hope to make
their work typical and illustrative of comfort and that
.spirit of hominess which attracts and creates favorable
impressions.
That portion of X'ew Jersey along the Hudson river,
and extending- some twenty to thirty miles inlana. was
settled by the Dutch who found their way up the Hack-
ensack river as early as 1640. The first permanent set-
tlement was made near the present village of Hacken-
sack no later than 1640; possibly a year or two earlier.
After that settlements were rapid and within the next
hundred years that section became a popular place for
venturesome traders and others who tired of the over-
crowded condition of the island of Manhattan and
\\anted more room in which to plant their homes.
The ancient Dutchman was a thrifty individual and
having a fertile soil to develop he made it speedily a
region of prosperous farms. It is not known what the
first houses were, but presumably of wood, like all the
early houses of settlers. But the Dutchman possessed
aristocratic ideas as regards house building and when
prosperity smiled upon him. as it did very shortly, he
discarded his log cabin, or hut, or whatever he was
living in. and built a house of stone. And in doing it
he developed a model which is today the envy of archi-
tects and the despair of builders. Reproduction seems
w'ell nigh impossible, yd they were but plain struc-
tures, unadorned, without any decc^-ation excepting- a
gambrel roof and gracefullv curved, overhanging: eaves.
20 ANCIENT DUTCH ARCHITECTURE
Where inartistic restorers have not ruined these build-
ings they are marvelously beautiful and attractive and
otter numerous suggestions for present day architects
which they might well heed.
Rarely more than story and a half high they con-
taijied from ten to fifteen rooms, often with curious
stairways and unexpected passages, developing artistic
designing by the employment of clean, straight lines.
No other architects have accomplished so much with
straight lines alone, and late attempts at reproduction
have generally been failures. A few restorations are
successful, but most of them have proved inartistic,
spoiling the original design and offering nothing to take
its place. It would seem, therefore, that those old
builders justified the characterization of originators of
a typical style of house architecture which deserves more
study than has yet been bestowed upon it.
They probably developed the gambrel roof. That
peculiar peak was almost unknown before these archi-
tects worked. The gambrel roof has been ascribed to
French architects of the early period, but scholars say
that French architects did not originate it, and that it
probably appeared first in these New Jersey structures.
This is hardly true since houses standing in New Eng-
land, built before 1640. have it almost as well developed
as in New^ Jersey. The reason is not understood, though
some builders have been inclined to the belief that the
first one was made so because the rafters were cut too
short and were pieced out in that way. The result was
so artistic and made such an attractive gable that it was
reproduced and ultimately became an individual archi-
tectural feature.
The curved and overhanging eaves constitute an-
other individual feature which was utilized by substan-
tially all the early builders, though with varying degrees
of success. Where constructed with due regard for
spacing the gable with the gambrel roof and the curved,
overhanging eaVes was quite the most attractive archi-
tectural feature of these buildings.
The peculiarity of construction divides these build-
ings into three periods, each distinctly marked and easily
ANCIENT DUTCH ARCHITECTURE 21
traced. They can be distinguished by the way the
stones of which they were constructed were prepared.
The first period began say about 1670 to 1700, or
possibly a few years either way. No one can tell ex-
actly. Tiie stones used were picked out of the surround-
ing fields and laid up in mortar prepared by using the
mud mixed from the soil upon which they rested, with
straw from their own stacks. In some of the older
buildings, now falling to ruin, this type of mortar can
be seen. Yet it has stood for over 200 years, and if the
buildings had been properly cared for would have been
quite as substantial today as it ever was.
Builders say that masons of the present day could
not lay the odd shaped stones into a smooth wall, solid
and enduring like the wails built then. That it was
done, and done successfully, is amply demonstrated by
the many structures now standing built of that type of
stone. But modern attempts would, it is said, result in
flat failure.
During the next twenty-five to fifty years a change
was made. Mortar and cement were introduced and
the stones used in the front wall and for two or three
feet of the ends were quarried and dressed, but the re-
mainder of the ends and the back wall were still rough
stones, like the original buildings. Large quarries were
opened in diflferent regions, and though transportation
facilities were flat boats, horses and oxen, the stones
were frequently carried long distances from the quar-
ries to the point where they were to be used.
The third and last period beginning after the Revo-
lution the stones used were all dressed, and cement was
used for laying up the walls ; a cement hard as adamant
and now really a portion of the stone itself. In tearing
down some of these buildings, or in cutting through the
walls it has been necessary to cut them with a stone
cutter's chisel. It is impossible to separate the stones
from the mortar.
The bricks used in the early chimne3"s were imported
from Holland, England, or Barbadoes. Thev were flat,
longer and larger than the standard brick of today.
More like the Roman brick, perhaps, only not so thin.
22 ANCIENT DUTCH ARCHITECTURE
The better class houses had tiling around the mantels
of great value and some exists today, known to be over
400 years old and originally brought from Holland.
Many of these houses contained so-called dungeons
where slaves were placed in solitary confinement and a
nvmiber still have the heavy iron rings in the cellar tn
which the slaves were fastened when they were whip-
ped. And there are other features about these houses
which are so individual that they put the structures in
a class bv themselves, definitely dififerent from anything
known elsewhere.
Probably one of the best examples of both the gam-
brel roof and the curved eaves standing in the county
is one now standing on the Polifly road. So far as can
be judged the outside has never been touched and the
house stands as originally constructed from 1695 to
1700.
The eli represents the early style of building as pre-
viously outlined, while the main part shows some of the
stones dressed, and the rest are rough. Some, at least,
of the ell is of the earliest period since it is laid up in
mud instead of mortar and straw is used to strengthen it.
Of course there are many other buildings in the
countv possessing these same characteristics, but this'
one is noted because it is typical and contains the fea-
tures which mark all the buildings of that period.
An example of the way one or mc^re of the dis-j
tinctive features were continued later is shown in a]
house now standing at \\"yckoft', occupied as a tavernj
during the revolution is introduced. It will be noted]
that the same old ell is present, which was. undoubtedly,]
the original dwelling. The square window in the gable,
under the eaves, has given place to the quarter circlesj
and a half round one appears in the top. These are
noted in some other buildings, but a])parcntly repre-'
sented no essential change in type; merely Ihe individual
whim of the builders, perhaps.
ON OUR NORTHERN lU )RDRR.
J5v TiiiiOPiin.us NiciKiLS Gi.ovek.
Ex-P resident of this Soeiciy and Tlislorian-iieneraJ of
the Sons of Colonial Cavaliers.
Just above the bouudarv line of our county, even
abutting- against it lies the village of SutTern, and over it
tower the hills of the Raniapo — part of the old earth
which rejoiced when "the morning stars sang together."
just be\ond the village the I'Lrie railrcjad passes through
a narrow gorge and wends its way up to Turners and
the open fields of Orange County. The Ramapo river —
the '"river of round ponds" as the Indians meant by the
name — flows through it and helps to form one of the
most fascinating regions to be found in this part of our
country. In no place is the valley wide and on both
sides the mountains are steep, but villages are there —
Hiilburn. Rama])0, Stratsburg and beyond Tuxedo Park
and Arden — and every hill and rock is associated wath
legends, and every old house, and even road, with his-
toric fact. Hiilburn is the creation of this day, but
Ramapo is but a shadow of its former self. It seems
hard to believe as one wanders along the dust covered
road that here was written a chapter of the world's in-
dustrial history.
The village was founded in 3793 by Mr. Josiah G.
Pierson and Jeremiah and Isaac, his brothers. They
were manufacturers of cut nails by machinery of their
own invention — machines, the first of their kind patented
in this country and among the first in the world. They
bore the date of 1795. At first the firm used Russia iron
and rolled and cut it at Wilmington, Dei., but it was
soon found that American iron worked equally well ; so
works were begun here and completed in 1798. There
was a good demand for the ])roducts from the planters
in Cuba. In 1807. hoops for whale oil casks were made
and in 1814 a cotton mill was begun. Mr. Pierson in-
vented a loom which wove striped sheeting, and shirt-
24 ON OUR NORTHERN BORDER
iiig'S. and checks, and formed the basis of the machines
now in use. The object of this venture was Russian
trade and it was in every way successful. At one time
the village contained seven hundred people and farmers
from Bero-en. as well as Orange counties, found ready
sale for all their produce and all their team work. In
1810, the manufacture of steel was added and all the
enterprises were kept up for years.
The earl}- manufacture of screws is intimately con-
nected with them. Several years ago I met and con-
versed with Mr. Pierson whose memory went back to
early days and the facts he gave me form the basis of
the following- story :
In 1835, the Piersons, as the tirni was known, began
the manufacture of common iron screws for holding-
wood. This was the first attempt to make them in this
country. Before that time they were imported, mainly
from France and were blunt at the end — not pointed as
they are nowadays. For a long time the business was
uphill work — the machines used were not satisfactory,
but so great was the firm's faith in the ultimate success
of the effort that for a long time an expert machinist
was kept at work to improve them. Finally a Mr.
Krum produced one which worked fairly well. One day
a man appeared who claimed to represent a Rhode
Island syndicate and wanted to buy the business. He
looked over the works, ascertained the price and left,
jironiising to decide the matter in a few days. In a short
time he wrote that his principals had changed their
minds and the arrangements could not be consummated.
Several years passed and one day a tramp screw
maker applied for a job. He was set at work and his
dexterity with the machine attracted attention. When
questioned, he answered that he had worked on such
machines in Providence. R. I. The Piersons imme-
diatelv brought suit in the United States court before
fudge Storv and recovered in damages three thousand
dollars and stopped the Providence works. In the trial
the defendant pleaded Read's patent and then it was
brought out that a man had broken into the Ramapo
works and taken wax impressions of the machines from
ON OUR NORTHERN BORDER 25
which those of the Providence firm had been made.
Then the Providence people offered to purchase the
patent and its rights. Twenty tliousand dollars were
named as the price, to wliich they demurred. Finally
arbitrators were chosen by wiiom the $20,000 was sus-
tained. The money was immediately counted out in $100
bills and these machines passed out of their control.
Still the idea of a machine to make a pointed screw
was in their minds. Mr. Krum kept at work and some-
time about 1845, ^^^ o"c ^'-^y 'dlowed a screw to slip and
a gimlet point resulted, lie followed up the idea and
perfected the machine. The Piersons gave him $10,000
for his claim and used the machine. This gave great
impetus to the screw business. Soon an agent of a
Taunton, ^Nlass., factory appeared, bought the patent and
its rights and then the screw business passed from
Ramapo.
There are several stories about this machine and in
printed statements it is claimed the first pointed screw
was produced in Newark, but the story is of far later
date than Mr. Pierson's. In 1850 it was decided to give
up business and then Ramapo began to dwindle. The
founding of liillburn closed its life.
The whole region teems with memories of Revolu-
tionary days. The road through the pass ("the Clove"
as it is locally known) was an Indian trail and long
before the Revolution was defended, according to some
maps, by a stockade fort. Before the road was built
through the present Tuxedo, it was the way from the
coast to the interior and always it was the road to the
Southern colonies. Its importance was so early recog-
nized that one of the earliest acts relating to defense
deals with this road.
Two and a half miles down the river is the Haver-
meyer propert}- and where the mansion stands formerlv
stood a large old fashioned farm house pictured in Mr.
Lossing's "Field Book" and known as the Hopper house.
It was the residence of Andrew Hopper, who was one
of Washington's most trusted spies. His grave is marked
by a simple monument and is only a little way off. In
Washington's letters we have manv written from this
26 ON OUR NORTHERN BORDER
house — they are dated '"Headquarters, Bergen County."
Washington lield these quarters while the army lay at
Steenrapie and people were living, not many year§ ago,
who could remember Washington's occupancy.
In the town of SutYern was another "headquarters,"
though never very long at any one time. The old build-
ing was torn down forty or fifty years ago. .\ picture
of it is in Mr. Lossing's "Field Book," where it is marked
Col. Burr's headquarters, which it may have been as well
as Washington's. It was a low story and a half dwelling
.of those days. I have in ni\- desk some wrought iron
nails from its roof. The last time T passed the locality
the old trees which shielded it were still growing and
the old well was in use. The door is now in the Wash-
ington headquarters at Newburg. marked as belonging
to the old blockhouse down near Bull's Ferry (which
never had a door). In any collection of letters and
diaries of the days of the Revolution mention is made
of this ])lace and in Mr. Sparks' collection of Washing-
ton letters several written from this house are given. It
is called in the spelling of those days Sufferns. Suffrens
and Sovereigns and was the residence of John Sufifern,
first judge of Rockland County. When the building
was torn down bushels of military papers were destroyed.
One, a muster book, fell into the hands of a pension at-
torney who made thousands of dollars out of the infor-
mation it contained. Tradition has it that in this house
Washington and Wayne discussed the attack on Stony
Point.
One of the earliest authorized acts for defence was
the erection of earthworks in the gorge above the present
town — between Hillburn and Ramapo. I think they
were erected in the summer of 1776 and I know that
the whole .American army under A\''ashington was here
twice at least. Some men were stationed here through-
out the war and Col. Aaron Burr was in command for
several months. (Tie was here when he first met Mrs.
Prevost whom he afterward married. She was living
near present ITohokus.) On a bench above the river,
just as o!ie reaches the railroad bridge, are remains of
old earthworks that once stretched from the foot of the
ON OUR NORTHERN BORDER 27
mountain slope on the east side straight down across the
river. On the west side they were formerly much more
distinct. They are so aided by nalnre that a small force
could stop the advance of quite a laro-e detachment. At
one place here there must have been an invalid camp.
for the place is known to this day as the "Quarantine
(iround" and there is also a tradition of the complete
annihilation of a C'arc^lina re.qimcnt of vonng- men by
camp fever. The i^raves were plainly visible twentv-
tive years agX). All throuo-h the woods are remains of
soldiers" ovens, standing just as they were left, and as
good for use as ever. Relics of Revolutionarv davs are
lound even now — such as old coins and parts of ac-
coutrements. ( )n the hill slope east of Suflfern the
French army encamped on its way to Yorktown. Each
division stayed one night.
■"Smith's-in-the-Clove" where ^^'ashington wrote manv
letters is an old house plainly seen from the car windows
just above the mill pond beyond Ramapo. Properlv it is
opposite Sterlington Junction. Just beyond the gate at
Tuxedo used to stand, (and it ma}- be there yet) close
beside the railroad track, the gable of a small stone build-
ing. It was the famous Augusta forge where was made
the second chain stretched across the Hudson at West
Point. The iron was mined and smelted a few miles
to the west (at the Sterling mines) and here made into
links and these loaded into an ox cart and sent to New
Winson, where the}' were put together. Part of this
chain is now at West Point.
Some of the first ghost stories I ever heard are con-
nected with points not far away from this valley. So with
some old legends. Mrs. Elizabeth Oakes Smith found
here material for her "Hugo, or the Salamander."
HISTORICAL CLIPPINGS.
Frances A. Westervelt.
Old newspapers are frequently storehouses of in-
valuable historical matters, scraps picked up here and
there, all interesting and more representative of the
times and the people than the more carefully written
and published histories. A few clippings, bearing upon
events and characters connected with the Revolution, as
it developed in this vicinity, are here given.
Old Records.
In the records of "Damages done by the British in
N. J., 1776 to 1872," filed in the State Library, occurs
the following entry :
No. 67. — An inventory of the damages which the
County of Bergen has sustained by the British and their
adherents, to wat :
i S. D.
To Burning the Court House 500 o o
To the town clock prime cost, 57 12 o
March 23, 1780. £557 12 o
The persons whose names are hereunto subscribed,
do certify the above to have done by the Enemy at the
time above mentioned :
Jacob Terhune. Esq.,
Isaac V. Derbeck, Esq.,
Peter Bogert, Towns.
Joon D. Terhun,
Samuel Demarest.
The above is interesting, as fixing the date of the de-
struction of the Court House, and the fact that in Hack-
ensack the county had a Town Clock q8 years ago which
cost £57, 12 shillings. — Guardian, 1878.
30 HISTORICAL CLIPPINGS
Hackp:nsack Plundered.
A correspondent writing from Dresden a series of
letters giving the history of the German mercenary
troops employed by the llritish government against the
Americans in the war of the Revolution. His facts and
incidents are derived from the official and other records
on file in Germany which give the history of the career
of the Hessian troops in America, h'rom one of these
letters we extract the following-
After the year i"]"/"] a new spirit was brought into the
conduct of the war. Howe and Burgoyne had hoped
not only to conquer, biit io conciliate. The homes and
property of non-combatants had been spared, at least to
some extent. Clinton and Cornwallis abandoned this
conciliatory policy. Expeditions Avere iTudertaken with
no other purpose than robbery and destruction. In these
also the Hessians were employed.
On the evening of the 22nd of ]\[arch. 17S0, for in-
stance, a body of 400 men, British and German, was set
across the Hudson. .About three o'clock in the morning
they reached Hackensack, ihcn a beautiful and rich vil-
lage. No resistance was made. Xot an American sol-
dier was in the place. There was no one to withstand
the barbarities that were committed. The British and
Germans broke into the houses and loaded themselves
with spoil. They made prisoners of all the male inhabi-
tants they could lay hands on, and having completed
their robbery, they set fire to the Town house, and to
some of the principal dwellings.
At daybreak 500 or 600 Americans came to the
rescue from Pollingtown. and it might have gone hard
with the invaders had not another detachment of about
400 men, under the partisan Emmerich, advanced to sup-
port them. As it was, they were chased back to the
Hudson. From the jotu-nal of the Hessian musketeer
Doehla. Eelking makes the following quotation: "We
took considerable booty, both in money, silver* watches,
silver dishes and spoons, and in household stuff, good
clothes, "fine English linen, silk stockings, gloves, and
HISTORICAL CLIPPINGS 31
handkcrcliiets, with other precious silk g'oods, satin and
stuffs."
"My own booty, which I brout^ht safely back, con-
sisted of two silver watches, three sets of silver buckles,
a pair of woman's cotton stockings, a pair of
man's mixed summer stockings, two shirts and f(jur
chemises of fine English linen, two fine tablecloths, one
silver tablespoon and one teaspoon, five Spanish dollars,
and six York shillings in money. The (jther ])art. viz..
eleven pieces of fine linen and more than two dozen silk
handkerchiefs, with six silver plates and a silver drink-
ing mug. which were tied together in a bundle. T had to
throw awa}' on account of our hurried march, and leave
them to the eneni}- that was piu'suing us." — Bergen
Count y Index. 1881.
Bergex County One Hundred Years Ago.
One hundred years ago last Sunday the first contin-
gent of New Jersey troops was mustered into the Con-
tinental arm\' in the city of New York, and New^ Jersey
was activel}' engaged in the revolutionary cause.
The passage of the Boston Port Bill and other o])-
pressive legislation b\- the I'ritish Parliament on the
last da}' of March, 1774. created a profound indignation
throughout New Jerse}' in common with the rest of the
provinces. Committees of Correspondence were formed,
and similar committees were formed in each of the thir-
teen counties of the province. IJergen county held its
meeting fourth in order, and appointed the following as
corresponding committee : Thomas Dey. John Demar-
•est. Peter Zabriskie, Cornelius Yan Yorst and John
Zabriskic, jr. A Provincial Congress was subsequently
held at Trenton. There were 87 delegates in attendance,
those from Bergen county being John Fell. John Dem-
arest. Hendrick Kuyper. Abraham \'an Boskerk and
Edo Mercelis. The third Provincial Congress being the
first regularly elected b\- the i)eople. met at Trenton,
Oct. 3. 1775. There were 48 delegates, those of Bergen
count^' being [ohn Demarest and Jacobus Post. This
32 HISTORICAL CLIPPINGS
session was one of the utmost importance, for, in addi-
tion to perfectino: measures of defense, there no^Y de-
veloped upon it the creation of a g-overnment for the
future state. On October 9. 1775, the Continental Con-
gress passed a resolution asking Xew Jersey to raise
two battalions of eight companies each for the public
service. Privates were to receive $5 per month instead
of a bounty, one felt hat, a pair of yarn stockings and a
pair of shoes. It was in compliance with this resolution
that Xew Jersey furnished her first troops to the Con-
tinental army, loo years ago last Sunday. — Times, Jan.
I, 1876.
ReVOLUTIO X ARY Le ITERS.
The following: letters, in the possession of Rev.
Douglass S. Putnam of Monroe. Mich., a descendant of
Gen. Putnam, are interesting- on account of local refer-
ence :
Philada., Septr. T2th, 1777.
I am directed by Cong-ress to send you the enclosed
resolve with the utmost despatch and to entreat your
immediate compliance with it. The situation of affairs
calls for vour utmost exertion on this occasion, and I
have no doubt of your sending forward the troops with
all possible expedition.
T have the honor to be
Your most obedt.
hble serv't,
John Hancock, Presidt.
Honble Major Gen'l Putnam.
What this resolve of Congress was whkh he was to
execute with such urgent haste, and into what perplexity
it brought den. Putnam, may be inferred from his letter
to ^^^ashington, dated four days later.
Peems Mill. Sept'r T6th, 1777.
Dear Gen'l :
I am extremely Sorry to hear that you have been
unfortunately Obliged to retire & leave Gen'l How in
possession of the Ground. I hope providence will yet
HISTORICAL CLIPPINGS 33
So smile on yonr efforts, which T know will be to your
utmost, as to i)ut ("len'l How (!!' his force in your power.
The disadvantai^es of heiuL; attacked are very t^'reat,
the Ei7emy choose their mode of attack. Ojipose their
g'reatest strength to your weakest parL besides the
Spirit of the assailants is almost uni\ersal!\' superior to
those who act only on the defensive.
T received an order of Congress to hold fifteen hun-
dred Troops ready to cross the North River, which were
to succour the Jersies, in case they should be wanted,
as the militia from that state were called to your assist-
ance. Al)out i.ooo of the luiemy crossed from Staten
Lsland to F.liz'h Town last Friday and marched throut^h
Xew York toward seson \'f\. A considerable body of
the Enimy. by the best information, two or three thous-
and, crossed about the same time from Minor's bridge
to Fort Fee & marched towards Hackensack. Fast Fri-
day morning- Gen'l McDoug-al with about fifteen hundred
men crossed the Xorth River to oppose the Enimy's
Colors and Succour the Jersies. .\fter this T received an-
other resolve of Congress ordering me to send fifteen hiui-
dred men Immediately to your assistance. Xow T can't
suppose the I'ong'ress mean T should leave the Jersies to
be ravaged & the Enimy to march where they please, or
this post exposed to fall into their hands. Genl. Par-
sons is at White plains, b\- being- there he answers a
double pur])ose, to protect that part of the Country from
the invasions of the Enimy. and is, in my opinion,
e(|uallv or a g-reater Security to this Post than if he lay
here, as he is under advantages to learn their first move-
ments. T have sent to Covr. Trumbull, (ienl. Woolcus
& Jelliman [ ?■] and Govr. Clinton for the assistance of
the militia to be forwarded with the utmost dispatch,
lender these Circumstances T wish to be directed whether
the fifteen hundred men shall be forwarded at all ad-
ventures to your assistance, and am with g^reat Esteem
and respect your Ivxcellei-icy's obedt. humble Servant.
FsRAF.L Putnam.
His Excellencv. G. A\^ashing-ton.
34 HISTORICAL CLIPPINGS
Revolutionary Fortifications at Fort Lee.
The fortifications and earthworks stood to the south-
east of the beginning- of Hudson street, and the anti-
quarian can discern in the grassy burrows opposite
Parker Phice the site of the breastworks. The Hne of
intrenchments inchided the site of the pretty stone
church l)uilt on Parker Place by the late Mr. Hoadley.
of Englewood. Old residents of Fort Lee remember
when the fortifications stood, and say that the stones
used in them were removed by the people in the neigh-
borhood, who used them in the cellars of their houses.
In the Autumn of 1776, when \\'ashington was in Fort
Lee. an incident happened to the father of this country
which is worth reciting here. Resides showing the
sword that hung by a single hair over the chief and the
destinies of this country, it illustrates the services rend-
ered by the vivandieres. a charming feature of the
French army. At this time Fort Washington, on the
Lleights, on the east side of the river, garrisoned by
1,000 patriots, was besieged by an overwhelming army of
British, German and Tory troops, who made a demand
for the surrender of the fort.
On being informed of this, Washington crossed the
river with Generals Putnam, Greene and Mercer, and
they made their way cautiously to the Morris house, (the
late Madam Jumel's mansion, still standing on Harlem
Heights). From this point, a mile south of Fort Wash-
ington, the chief had made a rapid survey of the field of
operations, when a vivandiere, who was very pretty, and
the wife of a Pennsylvania soldier, reverently touched
his arm and whispered in his ear.
Washington's intrepid coolness, which amounted
almost to a contempt of danger, saved him and his three
generals from capture by a British regiment which were
stealing on them frim behind the Jumel house. The
chief saw his companions into their saddles, and being
the best rider in the whole patriot army, he galloped
after them to their boats, which the illustrious band just
reached in time. The vivandiere had seen the Britishers
slowiv marching up the rocky hillside and she was
HISTORICAL CLIPPINGS 35
Washing-ton's g-uardian angel, as ten minules later wonld
have exposed him and his aids to death or capture.
Fort Lee was evacuated by Washington in Novem-
ber, 1776, four days after the fall of Fort Washington.
In his masterly retreat through New Jersey, even when
the llritishers tried to hem in the Continental army be-
tween the 1 fackensack and the I'assaic rivers, the great
chief flid not run such risk as he did in his bold recon-
noissancc in the enenn's lines crossing from Fort Lee.
—1881.
COXSTERNATION Ax A DaXCE At ChERRY HiLL, N. J.
There is nt)thing the Jersey boys have alwavs en-
joyed so much as a good old-fashioned dance. At one
time during the Revolution a number of American sold-
iers lay garrisoned in the fort, known as the Fort of the
Patriots, built on an eminence just back of Mr. John C.
Zabriskie's residence, at Cherry Hill. Almost everv Sat-
urday night the soldier boys would come down to the
old stone tavern, where 'Mv. Barney Cole's store now
stands, and have a dance with the girls. One dark,
rainy night — so dark that objects were almost indis-
cernible — they went as usual to have a dance. The old
ball room presented a gay appearance, with young girls in
their white dresses and crimson sashes, and the soldier
boys and their blue coats and brass buttons. All thoughts
of the enemy were forgotten as they tripped lightlv up
and down to the music.
But the English, who lay encamped at ITackensack
and on the ea.st side of the river, had heard of their
weekly visits, and had their plans all laid to surprise
them. A company of the English vv^ent up the old road,
on the east side of the river, while a party of Hessians
passed up through Flackensack. By this means thev
hoped to cut off all means of escape. But the Jersey
Blues had their scouts out, to give warning at the first
approach of the enemy. In the midst of a "A^irginia
reel" the alarm was given — -"The English arc comine'!"
36
HISTORICAL CLIPPINGS
With a hasty kiss lo sisters and sweethearts, each
man ran (|uickly np over the hill to the fort, and it is
doubtful if such quick traveling- has been witnessed
there since. In the meantime the English saw a com-
pany coming toward them, and thought it was the
Americans making their escape. While the Hessians
mistook the English for the Jersey hoys cc^ming down,
and instantly commenced the attack. In the rain and
darkness the regimentals were indistinguishable, and
both sides fought desperately for a short time, until a
Idessian suddenly cried for quarter. Then they realized
that the}" had attacked their own men. Many were
wounded, and several killed. Their wounded they car-
ried to camp, and their dead they l)uried (m the hill near
the present residence of Mr. John Post. It has been
said, highly to their credit, that although they had met
with such a terrible misfortune in killing their own men,
thev left' without making the least attempt to molest any
of the inhabitants, or the frightened yoimg girls that sat
in a terrified group in the old ball room. At early dawn
the young ladies esc(irted each other home, truly thank-
ful that brothers and lovers had been allowed to escape.
C APT A 1 X OF T 1 1 F. M 1 .\ U TE A I !•: X .
In conversation with a IJergen county man on May
2d a Xc7i's reporter learned that Mr. R. ( )utwater's
grandfather was the chief patriot of this section during ,
the Revolution. He commanded the minute men and
twice saved Hackensack from being sacked and burned
b\- the llriti.sh and Tories.
Ca])tain ( )ut\\ater and his men knew the country soj
well that they could cope successfully with five tiniei|
their numbers of strangers. He was severely wounde(
in a skirmish at Elizabeth.
The commander of the British garrison in Ne\
York is said to have published a reward of £25 sterling
to whoever woidd bring him or his head to New York.
HISTORICAL CLIPPINGS 37
After the war, and when Bergen county was organ-
ized as part «>f the State of Xew Jersey, Captain Out-
water was rewarded hy heing made judge of the County
court three successive terms. The Nacs' informant
mentioned man\- names of arch Tories who resided in
this section of Xew Jersey then and whose descendants
are now good citizens of the Republic. — Passaic .\'c:cs.
i88g.
]\L\JOR AXDRE.
No section of the country is more replete with Revo-
lutionary memories than liergen county. Nowhere are
there more anecdotes treasured or more sacred relics
preserved. The sad storv of Andre is well known, and
ids imprisonment and execution at Tappan are events
almost within the memory of present residents. The
story of his capture and death, and the subsequent ex-
humatic^n of his remains by the British authorities, have
already been told in The CHirjcii. There is a story of a
period of his life, however, that has never been told here.
It was before his appointment as Acting Adjutant-
(}eneral on the stafif of Sir Henry Clinton, and while he
bore the rank of captain on the stafif of Gen. Howe. It
was on the i8th of A Fay, 1778. a somewhat remarkable
fete took place in the city of Philadelphia. It was called
"Mischianza" (Italian for medley). The British army
under Howe had occupied the city for winter quarters
for some months, while Washington lay with his shoe-
less armv. in a hutted camp a few miles distant. The
British arm\- had found the occupati(^n of the city bar-
ren of results, although friends were found in a portion
of the population. Howe, disappointed and chagrined,
out-generaled and tlankcd, resolved on retiring to Eng-
land, and the army itself contem])lated withdrawal,
which was sometime afterward accomplished. Never-
theless, it was decided to put a bold face upon the mat-
ter and make the occasion of the General's retirement
an event of importance socially and to give a fete in his
honor. The atTair. entirel}- from the genius of Capt
38
HISTORICAL CLIPPINGS
Andre, took the character of romance and elegant gaiety,
and was long remembered in the good city of Brotherly
Love.
After a regatta on the river Delaware, the fete proper
was commenced on land. There a tournament took
place between six Knights of the Blended Rose on one
side and as many of the Burning ^Mountain on the other,
all in fantastic silk dresses, with ribbons, devices and
mottoes, lances, shields and pistols, each attended by his
squire and professing to serve some particular lady of
his love. One of the Knights of the Blended Rose was
Capt. Andre, who stood forth and did battle right
royally for Miss P. Chew, with the device of two game
cocks and the motto ''No rival." The entertainment was
closed by a magnificent display of fireworks, the like of
which had never been seen on this side of the Atlantic.
Gen. Howe withdrew to England, and three or four
weeks later the English troops vacated Philadelphia.
The tragic fate which three years later befell the
sprightly and ingenious Andre, the moving spirit of this
affair gives it a sad interest. /. F. C. Index, 1875.
CHANGES.
P.Y David D. Zabriskie.
Uerg-en comih", as originally constituted. March 7,
i08j, was described as .lying- between the Hackensack
and Hudson rivers. The portion west of the Hacken-
sack river to the Passaic river was a part of Essex
county, until January 21. 1709, when the boundaries of
Bergen comity were enlarg-ed, and this territory in Es-
sex county was added to and became a part of Bergen
county.
The county was then described as "Beginning- at
Constable's Hook, so run up along the bav to the Hud-
son's river to the partition point between New Jersey
and the province of New York, and so run along the
partition line between the provinces and the division line
of the Eastern and Western division of the prcivinces to
the Pequaneck river, and so to run down the Pequaneck
and Pessaick rivers to the Sound, and so follow the
Sound to Constable's Hook where it began." The
county at that time was divided into three townships,
Hackensack, New Barbadoes and Bergen. From 1709
until 1837 the boundaries remained the same.
On February 7, 1837. Passaic county was formed
from Essex and Bergen, the portion taken from Essex
was a part of Caldwell township, and the whole of Ac-
quackanonk township : the portion taken from Bergen
county was a part of Franklin township formed in Man-
chester township, and a part of Saddle River township
and Franklin formed in Pompton township. The boun-
daries of the county were not disturbed again until 1840,
when Hudson county was formed by the combination
of Bergen township and part of Lodi township formed
into Harrison township. This continued until February
19, 1852, when part of Harrison township was set off
to Bergen county and formed into Union township.
Since that period the boundary of the county has re-
mained the same, but its internal divisions have been
40
CHANGES
Hackensack,
1693.
Xew Rarbadoes,
1693,
Saddle River,
^m-
Franklin,
1767,
Harrinofon.
1775.
changed to such an extent that it stands supreme in the 1
state as to the number of its municipal divisions.
The townships of the county, and the date of forma-
tion, from the beyinnino- to the present time, are:
T(n\NSini's Bkkgkx Coi'N'iy.
Orig-inal.
( )riginal.
h^rom Xew iJarbadoes.
From Xew Barbadoes.
Hackensack and Xew Bar-
badoes.
1797, Saddle River and Frank-
lin.
1825, Xew Barbadoes.
1840. TTarrini;ton.
1849. h'ranklin.
1852, Harrison, liudson county.
1 87 1, Xew Barbadoes.
1 87 1, Hackensack.
1871, Hackensack.
187 1, Hackensack.
1876, Franklin.
1906, Hillsdale and Washington.
1889. I'nion.
1885. Hohokus and \\\ashinc-ton.
1893, Fodi.
1895, Fnolewood and Ridgefield.
1897. Ridi.jetield.
1898, \\'ashin<i;ton.
Okg A \ I z i':i ) Tow X .sff i p.s.
1903. Harrino-tou.
1894, ( )rvil. Hohokus an<l
Franklin.
1894. Palisade and Fnglewood.
1894, r^idjG^efield.
1903, FTarring-ton.
1894, I>ergen.
1895, Ridg^efield.
Pompton,
Lodi,
Washin,Qt(Mi.
FTohokus,
I'nion,
Midland.
T^alisade.
Fmglewood,
Ridgefield,
Ridge wood,
Rivervale,
Boiling Springs,
Orvil,"
Bergen,
Teaneck,
( ^verpeck.
Hillsdale,
BoRorcni
Alpine,
Allendale.
Bergenfields,
Bogota,
Closter,
Carlstadt,
Cliffside Park.
CHANGES
]5oK()L'(;it ()r(;.\nizkI) Townships.
Cresskill, 1H94, Palisade,
l^emaresl. 1903, I^'ilisacle and 1 larriii,o(<iii.
Delford. 1894, Palisade and Midland.
Dumont (or Schraalen-
burg), 1894,
ICtna (Emerson). 1003,
l^do'e water, ,
l^ast Rutherford, 1894,
Tuiq-lewood Cliffs. 1895,
Fairview, 1894,
Fort Lee, 1904,
Garfield, 1898,
CAvn Rock. 1894,
ilarrinyton I'ark, 1004,
Hasbrouck Heights. 1894,
TTaworth, 1904,
Leonia,
Little Ferrv.
Lodi,
IMavwood,
^ridland Park.
^lontvale.
Xorth Arlino-ton,
Xorwood,
Oakland,
< )ld Ta])])an.
Orvil (Hohokns).
Palisades Park.
Park Ridge.
Ramse\'.
Ridgefield.
Riverside.
Rutherford.
i^addle River,
Tenafiv,
Palisade.
\\ ashington.
Poiling Springs.
I'jiglewood and Palisade.
Ridgefield.
Ridgefield.
Saddle River and W'all-
ington liorough.
Ridgewood and Saddle
River.
PTarrington. Washington,
Closter P)orough.
Lodi.
Harrington, Dumont Por-
ough.
1894, Ridgefield.
1894, Lodi and New Barbadoes.
, Lodi and Saddle River.
1894, APdland.
1894, Ridgewood and Franklin.
1894, Washington and Orvil.
1896. Union.
1905, Harrington.
1902, I'^ranklin.
1894, Harrington.
1905, ( )rvil Township.
1900, Ridgefield.
1894, Washington.
1008, Hohokus.
T892, Ridgefield
1894, Midland.
1881. I'nion.
T894, Orvil.
1894, Palisade.
42
CHANGES
Borough Organized
Tppcr Saddle River, 1894,
Wallington, 1894,
VVestwood, t8o4.
Woodcliff, 1894,
Woodridge, 1894,
Townships.
( )rvil and Hohokus.
wSaddle River.
Washington.
Washington and Orvil.
Herefen.
V ILL AGES.
•iidgewood.
1894. Ridgefield Park,
Poi"Ur,AIION.
In
1790
the popuhition was
12,601
'■
1800
"' "■ "
15-156
''
1810
li a a
16,603
a
1820
a it it
18,178
"
1830
it it
22,414
"
1840
a .< it
13.190
Hudson
set off (hiring the same year.
In
1840
the population was
945 T
''*
1850
' ' " "
14,708
"
i860
21,618
"
1870
31.033
•'
1880
36,786
"
1890
47,226
it
1900
78441
<(
1905
100,003
1892.
The census of i8io shows that in entire county there
were 2.180 slaves, 511 of whom were in New Barbadoes
Township, and 74 in Pompton. Sussex County, 1790,
19,500. 1890. 22.250. 1905. 23.325.
ClirRCHES.
The ancient church buildings located in different por-
tions of the coiuity should command the respect and
admiration of every one. For a century or more some ot
them have been the center of religious teachings and
activity ; man}' of them, as far as the exterior is con-
cerned, remain as they were when built, the interior re-
modelled and made to accommodate the modern de-
mands of their adherents. Thev stand todav as silent
CHANGES 43
monuments of the intense zeal and sacrifice of our an-
cestors. Erected when the country was sparsely set-
tled, by communities ^vlu) were not wealth}', as wealth
is measured and understood in this day, in such a man-
ner that they have withstood the onslaughts of time, and
are still engaged in the work and worship for which
they were originally intended. Xone of these churches
were built for the purpose of a builder's profit ; their
adherents were willing, and did contribute their time,
money and material. 'Jlie following plans were adopted
for rebuilding the cluu'ch at 1 lackensack in 1790:
Whereas — The Dutch Reformed congregation of
I lackensack, in the county of Bergen and State of New
Jersey, have long seen .the necessity of rebuilding their
church, but have been prevented by the troubles of the
late war, and particularly by a divided state of the con-
gregation, and
WiiERE.\s- — It has pleased the omniscient Dis-
poser of human events to bless the land with peace, and
the congregation Avith a happy reunion, friendship and
harmony, said congregation have determined by the ad-
vice of their ministers, elders and deacons in the fear of
the Lord to proceed to the rebuilding of said church,
according to the following plan :
First — The old church shall be broke down, and all
right and title thereto by former proprietors shall be
deemed totally void ; and upon the same ground the new
one shall be erected, and of the following dimensions,
viz. : forty-eight by sixty feet, with two galleries.
Second — The following persons shall be appointed
managers, \vhose business it shall be to engage laborers,
procure materials, superintend the work, and do every-
thing necessary to promote it. Then the persons are
named who are to manage the work.
Third — The corporation shall immediately take in
voluntary subscriptions in order to defray the expense
of building ; the money to be subscribed to be paid in
three equal payments, viz. : the first moiety at the time
of subscribing ; the second immediately after roof of the
new church is laid ; the third at the finishing of the build-
ing.
44 CHANGES
Fourth — The inside of the church shall be furnished
vvitii pews, without making any distinction between the
men's and women's pews.
Fifth — After the church is completed Uie pews shall
be divided into convenient seats, except as many free
seats for strangers as the managers shall think prc^per.
an elder's and a deacon's pew, — a pew for ministers'
families, (also a magistrate's pew, the latter shall be
particularly constructed, and have a canopy over it)
said seats shall, after due notice given, at an. appointed
time and place, be disposed of at public auction to the
highest bidder, and the subscribers shall have credit on
the purchase of the seats, for such sum or sums of
money as they shall have subscribed.
Sixth — If an\- person shall become heir to, or shall
purchase I'mm another an}- of said seats, and shall not
apply with in one year and one day after such pur-
chase, or the (jbtaining of such right of legacy, to have
such seats transcribed, they shall be deemed the property
of the congregation and tlie church masters have a
right to sell them. The ]irice for transcribing shall be
four shillings. Xew York currency.
\\E, .the subscribers, approving of the abovt plan
for rebuilding the church at Hackensack, do. for the
promotion thereof, promise to pay, or cause to be paid,
to the minister, elders and deacons of the Dutch Re-
formed congregation, of Hackensack, in the county of
Hergen, in the state of New Jersey, on their order in
gold or silver, or the value thereof in paper currency,
at the rate of eight shillings to one Spanish milled dol-
lar, the sums annexed to our respective names, and ac-
cording to the division of payment specified in the plan.
As witness our hands this day of
1700. being ai liberty to p^y one-third in necessar}- ma-
terials at such price as the managers choose to agree
for, except the first payment, which shall be in cash only.
I'nder this plan the cluu-ch was erected, and was no
doubt a source of j)ride to the congregation.
The fourth section relative to the pews seems to
have been a source of some trouble to the congregation,
for in 1871 we finrl the legislatiu-e was appealed to for
CHANGES 45
relict to enable them to raise money for the support of
the church by assessing- the pews. The act provides that
the minister, elders and deacons of the Reformed con-
gTes;ation. of IJackensack, in the ct)nnty of Bergen and
state of Xew jersey, be and they are hereby authorized
to make assessments on the pews in said church under
tlieir control from time to time, for the purpose of rais-
ing money for the salary of the minister, repairs and
current and necessary expenses of the church and sup-
port of the gospel, with power to collect the same, and
such assessment shall be a lien upon such pews so as-
sessed from the time they shall be made, and in case
such as.sessment upon such pews shall be unpaid by the
owner of the same for the space of one year said pews
at and after the expiration of said one year shall be f(ir-
feited to and become the absolute property of said cor-
porate authority.
The church service of our ancestors would have
been, to a modern congregation, exceedingly dry. often
without instrumental music, services long and doctrinal.
In winter without heat, except such as might be derived
from a foot-stove. I>ad weather was no excuse for
absence from service. Absence from church service was
often a subject discussed by the consistory, and delin-
quents were often visited by a committee to inquire the
reasons for absence, and admonitions were frequently
given to the delincjuents to do better in the future. No
minister of these congregations would have considered
it necessary to deliver a sermon on a subject like this :
"^^^^y men do not attend church." X^ewspapers would
not even have dared to publish an article in one of our
leading papers a few days ago entitled "Decline of
Dogma." crediting a well known minister as saving
"The church is climbing to the tablelands of sanctified
intelligence." ^^\" have put new wine in the old bot-
tles, and they are not bursting. The spirit of democracv
has invaded the church. The laity has been graduated
from its short clothes. The modern layman thinks for
himself, and knows that doubting is a duty.
There has been a modification of theologv. The doc-
trines of our childhciod are no longer preached. TTell
46 CHANGES
has cooled off considerably in the last fifty years. We
trace our ancestr}' to the zoological garden rather than
to the Garden of Eden. Sectarian fences are rotting
out and falling down, and we do not replace them. We
write over the doors of our churches not "Credo" but
"Amo." The church no longer confines its ministrations
to the spiritual nature of man. It ministers to the man's
entire body, as well as soul. It does not believe that all
amusements belong to the devil, and we have holy
smokers in the Presbyterian church, minstrel shows,
burnt cork and all in the Reformed church, and pro-
gressive euchre in the Episcopal church. The modern
church doesn't lay so much stress on individual salva-
tion. It has gone into the wholesale business. It has
ceased to be a Noah's Ark, or a patent fire-escape for the
salvation of the elect. It is becoming the grandest
mutual aid society the world has ever seen.
Educatiox.
Our ancestors, if they were alive today and could
l<jok upon the many beautiful school buildings erected in
different parts of the county, and examine the modern
classroom, and study the curriculum of our grammar
and high schools, would not recognize the county. Thev
would be astonished, and say. Is this Bergen county?
The schools we remember were plain district schools,
located on land that could not be used for any other
purpose, with one room, governed by a teacher known
as the "School-master," heated in winter bv a stove
filled with green cord-wood, furnished by the trustees,
(the only duty performed by the trustees.) cut into
lengths by the l)ig boys with the proverbial school axe,
swept by large girls once a week, the boys seated on one
side and the girls on the other. Commencements were
unknown. Xobody graduated. Scholars simply left
when they, or their parents thought they knew enough ;
the .same books were used for generations. A thorough
education for girls was not considered necessary, and
they were simply allowed to attend for a few terms, after
which they were kept at home to familiarize themselves
with liousehold duties, considered to be of more import-
CHANGES 47
ance to their future liappincss. The big- boys were al-
lowed to attend in winter to enable tliem to add a few
new ideas, while in summer they were required on the
farm, the development of muscle beino- of o;reater im-
portance than the development of the brain.
A college course was seldom indulged in by the boys,
and for the girls it was considered a waste of time.
Remarks made a few days ago as to the motives actuat-
ing young women to take a course in a university would
have been, in part, at least, foreign to the situation. The
speaker said :
"Whatever may be the motives that actuate the
young- women in coming to the university, they soon
divide into two w cll defined groups, the members of one
group work hard. They usually maintain a high class
standing, and injure their health. The members of the
other group devote their chief attention to the young
men. This results in cardiac enlargement rather than
cerebral development. And as to the \'oung men, why,
of course, it would be unreasonable to expect any young
man with red blood in his veins to devote his evenings
to physics, to the higher mathematics or to Roman law.
when there is a sweet young lady waiting to entertain
him."
The early houses of Rergen county were devoid of
what we call comfort ; modern improvements were un-
known. The occupants were by no means unhappy, for
the reason that they had never experienced these advan-
tages. Americans, as a rule, and I hardly think citizens
of Bergen county are exceptions, are willing at all times
to surround themselves with all the comfort they can
afiford or have. An American visiting England lately,
in an article written and published by him, showing the
tenacity with which some of the Englishmen adhere to
the customs of their forefathers, says :
"The Americans were years and years in getting the
Rritish innkeepers, for example, to admit that, perhaps —
it might be — it was hardly possible — that though some
(notice that sonic) B.ritons for a few centuries had taken
baths in tin pans and thought they were keeping them-
selves clean, porcelain bath-tubs might -nevertheless have
48 CHANGES
advantages of their own jieciiliar kind. T'^inally. the\'
did admit it, to a degree, and now some of the very best
hotels really have bath-tubs in them, and are quite proud
of it, although I am afraid they do not give the Ameri-
cans proper credit for the reform.
"Take that nnich discussed question of warmth.
Everything that shouldn't l)e warm in England is warm,
and everything that should be warm is cold. The houses
are catacombs, always excepting those few hotels in
Lx)ndon where they have steam heat, which is, of course,
due to the advance of American civilization. English-
men say they do not feel the cold. Everybody else feels
it, for it is the meanest cold in the world. Extended ob-
servation leads to the conclusion that the reason the
English do not feel the cold is that they are desensitized,
sort of refrigerator-beefed, so to speak.
"This is not the main ])oint. The reason the English
.shiver around in cold, damp rooms, trying to make them-
selves believe a few hunks of cannel coal in a grate fur-
nish all the heat required b.\' the most delicate, is that
somebody, in ancient days, who couldn't get anything to
warm himself by, did the next best thing, and declared
that he didn't feel the cold, and didn't need a fire any-
how-. Other Englishmen heard of it. and this idea has
been a fetish ever since."
I do not hesitate to say that tenacity of this kind
could not exist in Bergen county today, notwithstanding
the customs or habits of our forefathers.
Old Name.';.
I wish, however, that we were possessed of some of
the tenacit\- of our English brethren in maintaining and
perpetuating some of the old neighborhood names be-
queathed to us by our forefathers.
The location of many of them are unknown to the
liresent generation. Slotterdam, Hoppertown, PolHfly,
(lodwinville, ^Masonicus. Yop-po, Roiling Springs,
Wearinuis, Pascack, Kinderkamack. Old Bridge. New
I'.ridge. Small Lots. Eairfield. Sluk-u]) and Schraalen-
Inu-g. TTackensack. Paramus , Plohokus, Sicomac, still
CHANGES 49
survive, but they too will disappear if luodern methods
are applied.
I have, in the brief time alloted, tried to show what
changes have taken place in our beloved county in a few
particulars ; to cover the entire field would be impossible.
The inhabitants in olden times loved r.ergen county,
and we who are permitted to live here now love it.
Both old inhabitants and new could truthfully say:
"Here let me dwell, the old because the}' could in
the quietness of the country home say. I looked across
the valley from my home.
When winter's frosty hand held in its grip the wide
and barren landscape.
'Bove every roof the smoke curled, hesitant and re-
luctant thus to leave the sheltering warmth of wide and
generous chimneys.
Signs of life were here and there visible, and forms
dark against the universal white, moved.
Now. from house to barn, from barn to well.
Tracing the curious labyrinth of paths."
The new because he separates the bus\- world from
his home, and can truly say :
"Let those who dwell midst the noisy din, the harsh
clamor of the world's contention, ceaseless debates of
questions without end, and strife for earthly dignity and
rank.
The heedless scramble after tinseled toys.
The heated chase for riches' gilded prize;
Give me a book before the fireside where the soft
nestle of the murmuring flame stirs tender tho'ts and
soothes the tangled brain.
Where from the circle of the suburban life, some
friend, congenial and with like taste, shall come tho' all
unbidden, yet to find his chair set forth, and welcome
waiting him. Til be content and thank a gracious God
who lets the lines of life fall happily."
EARLY LECISLATIOX AFM<:CT1X(; I5ERGEX
• COUNTY.
By EnMUM) W. Wakelee.
It is a mighty fine thing for a people to hold sacred
the old landmarks and keep ever fresh in mind the be-
ginning" of things, (iood citizenship without patriotism
is impossible, and true patriotism is not only love for
the state and nation of the present, but also includes an
aflfection for the old conditions and a belief in the tore-
fathers whose work at the beginning made possible what
we are pleased to call our present greatness. Nothing
can go right unless it is started right, and no land can
be a land of liberty unless at the beginning it is founded
on the eternal principles of justice. e([uity and fair plav
which make liberty possible.
I am no historian and have made no original research
and can add nothing to the known facts regarding the
early legislation affecting llergen County. For me, in
the presence of this learned society and the ladies and
gentlemen here assembled, filled as you are with everv
detail of our early history, to attempt any lengthy his-
torical review of our early legislation would be the height
of folly.
It is said that legislative law is merel\' a memoranda,
and if you connect that fact with another fact in which
I thoroughly believe, namely, that our people do have the
laws they want, it naturally follows that as the laws of
today are drafted to meet our present conditions, so our
early legislation was enacted to meet early conditions.
A review of the legislation of any given period will
pretty accurately disclose the nature and kind of people
legislated for. as well as their conditions and advance-
ment. The early legislation affecting this countv deals
with the questions then of importance to the settlers in
a new country inhabited by htistiie tribes of Indians.
We find in those laws an accurate picture of the con-
test for territory carried on by the different European
52 EARLY LEGISLATION
nations, each attempting by settlement and otherwise to
increase its sphere of influence in the new world. New
Jersey finally passed vmder the control of the English
and we then trace the home disputes and troubles of the
mother country as reflected in the laws and government
of New Jersey.
In 1676 the partition between Carteret and Berkeley
was made, East Jersey being allotted to Carteret, and
in 1682 East Jersey was divided into four counties, Ber-
gen, Essex, Middlesex and Monmouth, which was the
beginning of our existence as a county.
Then followed internal troubles in both East and
West Jersey, until in 1702 the proprietors surrendered
t(^ the crown their right of government, retaining only
their interests in the soil, and the two provinces became
the Royal colony of New Jersey. From that time until
the Revolution the people of this county were employed
principally in farming, and this fact is shown by the
laws of that time in that they deal with roads, strays,
enclosures of land, bridges, taxation and the numerous
questions of importance to a community of farmers.
Then comes the Revolutionary period, and the char-
acter of legislation quickly changes and military matters,
the raising of troops and money occupied the attention
of the legislature. Notwithstanding the fact that there
was some tory sentiment in New Jersey and in Bergen
County, we can all be proud of the part New Jersey,
one of the original thirteen states, and Bergen County,
one of the priginal counties, took in that great struggle.
The names Trenton, Princeton, Monmouth, Red Bank
and in our county. Fort Lee, Hackensack and the places
along the entire route of Washington's retreat arc writ-
ten large in our country's history to stand for all time
as memorials to the bravery, faithfulness, and patriotism
of our Jersey people.
After the Revolution the state bounded forward in
material prosperity. Internal improvements were de-
manded and this conr^tion is again reflected in the laws.
Canals were provided for and projected; better roads
were built : the society for establishing useful manufac-
tories at Paterson was incorporated, it is said, Alexan-
AFFECTING BERGEN COUNTY 53
der Hamilton drawing the charter. Great wagon roads
were provided for by the legislature and were laid out
across the state, many of these afterwards becoming
the routes of the present railroads.
As the state continued to grow and increased in
wealth and population the laws changed year by year
to keep pace with the changes in the conditions of the
county and state. The public school system was estab-
lished and extended. Reforms in the caring for the
criminal insane and the dependent were instituted. Rail-
roads were chartered and built.
In 1844 the present constitution which now so sadly
needs amending was adopted. New Jersey took a noble
part in the Civil war. She furnished nearly 90,000 men
and paid out about three million dollars for the support of
the troops and on the field of battle sustained the reputa-
tion for bravery made in the days of Washington's re-
treat through Bergen, and at Trenton and Monmouth.
New Jersey has now become the centre of marvelous
activity in nearly every line of human progress. Her
mills clothe multitudes. Within her boundaries are
found the terminals of nearly every great railroad of
the United States. Her gardens and farms feed millions.
Her seashore resorts have made the sands to blossom
and become the pleasure ground of all the people of the
East, and during all this time of material progress the
laws have kept pace with the progress of the state.
Pessimists point to the politics and the legislation of
the present day as evidence of the decline from the
purit\ and lofty patriotism of the fathers, and they sigh
over the decadence of modern statesmanship and lament
the corruption and dishonesty of everything that is. The
student of history finds, however, that human nature has
not changed. It is about the same in all ages. We read
the records of early legislation with wonder. The con-
test and turmoil would not be tolerated at the present
time. ]\Iinorities were counted to be majorities. Mem-
hers elected were unseated ; charges of bribery and cor-
ruption were constant, but out of it all came the legis-
lation which the people needed and wanted, and which
was proper and beneficial to t'.ieir interests.
54 EARLY LEGISLATION
It is interesting to note that many of the innovations
of the present time and tlieories and ideas which are
now hailed as new are as old as the state. We have
had recently an agitation in regard to the granting of
limited franchise to cor])orations and it is suggested that
Ihat is something new. ( )n the contrary, all of the canal
and railroad charters granted years ago were for a
limited period of time and with the right in the state to
take over the properties at certain times and under cer-
tain conditions. One of the present questions before the
state and county is the regulation of the liquor busi-
ness. It is interesting to note that as early as 1682 a
law was passed in this state as follows : "Concerning
that beastlv vice drunkenness it is hereby enacted that
if anv person is found to be drunk he .shall pay one shill-
ing fine for the first time, two shillings for the second,
and for the third time and for every time after two
shillings six pence, and such as have nothing to pay shall
suffer corporal punishment," and "disturbers of the peace
shall be put into the stocks until they are sober."
We have recently heard a g6od deal said in our
count V about the delay incident to the opening of draw
bridges across our rivers. As early as 1796 a law was
])assed that if any boatman keeps a bridge open above
fifteen minutes when not necessary for the passage of
boats, or if he shall not fasten the bridge securely he
.shall forfeit five pounds t(-> the county of Rergen.
And so T might go on giving numerous illustrations
which link the past with the present and show that all
that is good is not behind us. but that on the contrar}-
there has been a steady improvement in our civilization
and in our laws. All the ]:)atriots and all the statesmen
are not dead. Today the\- are with us more than ever.
Let us have faith in the republic and in our present in-
stitutions, approving that which is right, condemning
that which is wrong.
"New times demand new measures and new men;
The world advances, and in time outgrows
The laws that in our fathers' day were best ;
And doubtless after us some purer scheme
Will be shaped out by wiser men than we,
Made wiser by the steady growth of truth."
MAPS AND THFJR ^rAKrNG.
\\y II. r>. ( i(_)i".rscii ii's.
"Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy
fathers have set." is an ohl and respectable proverb;
])iit tlie old and respectable die and are forg-otten and
especially is this the case in a hnrrying' civilization such
as ours, dominated both for i^ond and evil by the spirit
of commercialism. Xor is it well that the American
whose father set these landmarks and in whose blood
runs that strain which dedicated this continent to lib-
ert\', should regard the old and venerable as a teHch.
when it has lost its material usefulness and carries
nothing- of spiritual inspiraticju as its reason for being".
JUit while the old must often disa])pear to make way
for progress, the memory of the stepping stone which
has helped us thus far in our national journey should
not be lost, and how best to preserve those memories is
the business of patriotic societies and historical reposi-
tories such as ours.
Papers embodying- much research, descriptions and
pictures of the thing-s that are gone or going- are invalu-
able ; nothing- can take their ])lace : but in time such a
mass of material is g-athered that the arrangement of
a bibliography covering them, becomes a labor few
would care, or be able, to undertake. Memorial tablets
are well, but they will often disappear, as the old land-
marks have done, before the vandalism of a future gen-
eration. The natural features of the land, however, are
more permanent. A place from which everv vestige of
building has disa])peared. if it has been accurately plot-
ted upon a correct map. is mathematically identified for-
ever. The glossary of such a chart becomes ^ conven-
ient and almost automatic bibliographv. if references
to records and papers are merely noted after the names
in such a list. And therefore, those who value the re-
minders of a noble and useful past, whose more primitive
life laid the firm foundation ior the complex structure
56 MAPS AND THEIR MAKING
of present society, will, we feel sure, be active in assist-
ing the Committee on Historical Geography in the pre-
servation of these remains of an older and past con-
dition.
Churches and public buildings, schools and places of
business are the centres of community life. And those
were the places around which the simple colonial life
fir.st began its growth. Some of them still exist, many
have disappeared, some utterly, apparently ; but mem-
bers of the organization can in their own neighborhood
often ferret out sites of buildings and records of events
with much more readiness and certainty than the
stranger within their gates, unfamiliar with both place
and people. The writer has covered a great many weary
miles to the impairment of his dignitv and the depletion
of his purse in the effort to fix some of these places so
interesting and so elusive. He has been chased by the
unsocial dogs of the suburbanite and has faced the wild
cows of remote New Jersey farms in his researches,
until he feels fully qualified to hunt larger game in
Darkest Africa or elsewhere. With a watchful eye upon
his hen coop, the agriculturist has kept him under
espionage as a possible undesirable citizen. He has
discovered that most of our farmers use German and
not a few the language of Dante, while here and there
they revile the explorer in .\merican. But the old
farmer of his youth, who used the patois called Jersey
Dutch has vanished. Gathered to his fathers, he and
his customs ; and the places that knew him before shall
know him no more.
In my own quests but little has been established. Had
I been able to take the time and apply the knowledge
that a resident possesses many points of interest might
have been cleared up. Especially is it necessary to es-
tablish the locations of roads. These were the arteries
binding the old cotumunities together and then passing
out from our own county to other centers. What were
they and which are the old roads? Old maps must still
be about; a search through that old burial place for the
forgotten and neglected ; the deserted and cob-webbed
attic might result in a resurrection as unexpected as use-
MAPS AND THEIR MAKING 57
fill. Siicli a map was discovered a few years ago, con-
nected with Revolutionary movements, but some private
collector has gathered it in and hidden it way from s^-en-
eral use and its data is unaxailable. Perhaps something
may be found that will give us the route which Wasn-
ing-ton's army took when he marched on that memorable
tri]^ to the siege of Yorktown, leaving Clinton deceived
as to his intentions until his rear-guard was at Phila-
delphia. An old Xew Jersex' resident since dead told me
that the main body, according to his father, who had
the knowledge, directly crossed the TTackcnsack at what
is now RiAcrcdge. The road there is a verv old one.
Xot far from the east bank is a very old house and a half
mile or so clown the road stood the old iavern which
made way for a modern church. Init it seems an un-
strategic crossing point, and T have been unable to verify
the statement. Can any of my readers help us?
Neither could I situate with certainty the site of a
Revolutionary massacre which took ])lace near Rivervale
<m the Hackensack's west bank. TTerc the houses and
grounds of a countr}- place are enclosed within a fence
that includes the supjMXsed site, but no trace of the old
spot remains. A similar experience met me at Areola.
ATy last memory of it was of the old Red oMills, which
gave it its original name. T foiuid a neighborhood laid
out in the style of a park, very pretty ; but the old mills
were gone, the old dam repaired and the old name nearly
forgotten. I used to be told when T was a bov that
there \\as a woolen mill on this site, which furnished
blankets to the soldiers of the Revolution, and it is cer-
tain that there was a water power in operation there at
a very early date. Researches in the accounts of the
commissary department of the patriot army might bring
verification. Through all that district there was a great
deal of marching and countermarching; for about here
the road ran nor+h to Peramus fas T find it spelled on
the old map on which the road was marked) and east-
erly toward Hackensack and Powles' Hook. While Avest-
wardly it took a northern course after two or three miles
and skirted the great bend of the Passaic to reach
Totowa and the Great Falls. Thus at first the present
58 MAPS AND THEIR MAKING
site of the main part of Paterson was not crossed in
reaching- Totowa, Preakness and Pompton. At Waga-
raw a road ran north from this main road, but its name
of Cherry Lane would seem to indicate that it was not
a connectino- route. Yet it was the scene of at least
one encounter. Probably the main branch I'oad de-
parted a little further west, passing through the Goffle
and so in a general northwesterly direction to the
Ponds, where it connected with the road leading north
along the Ramapaugh to Newburgh and south to Pomp-
ton and on to ^Morristown. Here in the fork of the
roads to the east of the Ramapaugh road and to the
north of the road from the Goffle it is believed was the
site of the Ponds church, but no trace so far as I know
is left. Diligent search might, however, reveal some-
thing. I have been informed latelx'. that the records
were destroyed by fire. More extended research leads
me to believe that the Weasel bridge, shown in my first
map. was not in existence in Revolutionary times, but
this too is in need of verification.
These instances have been given as examples of a
few of the questions that have come up in the course of
a year not too vigorously devoted to the subject of his-
torical geography in our County of Bergen. But before
closing a paper already becoming too voluminous, I de-
sire to incorporate the following, due to the courtesy
of Prof. H. B. Kummel. the New Jersey State geologist.
^'The New York boundary line which was surveyed
in 1774, while intended to be a straight line, was not.
The line of the monuments is south of the straight line
throughout its entire length. At the two ends it de-
parted slightly, but increased in distance every mile, and
through all the middle part of the line, where for sev-
eral miles it ran across the mountainous region of the
State, it was quite crooked. The greatest distance of the
old line south of the straight line wJis at the twenty-
sixth mile stone \\here it was 2,415 feet ofif from the
straight line. The old line was run with a surveyor's
compass from both ends. It was what surveyors call a
"rhumb" line, but it was made still worse by the varia-
tion of the needle beincz' diflferent at the two ends, and
MAPS AND THEIR MAKING 59
being- less at one intermediate point than at either end.
The joint commission of the two states which acted in
1881 determined tliat the old bcxmdary. although not
perfectly straight as ordered in the description made bv
the Commissioners of 1769, is the line which was run
by those Commissioners and their surveyors in 1774,
and since most of the monuments set by them were still
in their places, the old line so long established and recog-
nized must still be accepted as the true one. The pres-
ent boundary line is, therefore, the old line of 1774 so
far as the old monuments could be located, and where
old monuments could not be found a straight line was
run l)etween the two nearest monuments. The present
line, therefore, is a curved line, though not quite as
irregular as that of 1774."
In addition to this by by Prof. I\ummcl, I would like
t(5 state that there seems to have been a still earlier
boundary, situated further south and probably a cause
of disputes which the survey of 1774 was intended to
settle. This boundary may be lost, but there were sur-
veys made in the Jerseys at least as early as 1709. and
undoubtedly a line of demarcation between the provinces
would be demanded at an early date, both because of
provincial jealousies and to limit the respective govern-
ments. Confirmatory of this theory was a map, which
I was allowed to inspect, upon which a line was drawn
across the province of New^ Jersey, from a point opposite
Philippse manor in Yonkers to the south end of Alim-
sinck Island in the Delaware river. The line, therefore,
passes across the State at about the place where tradi-
tion and old records tell us New York and New Jersey
once met and is most probably the boundary sought;
but here again the help that lies in numbers is greatly
to be desired.
Finally I desire to extend the thanks of the Com-
mittee to Mrs. F. A. Westervelt, who has put us in
touch with much valuable data, and to all who have fur-
nished us with information.
This has been written, not to set forth any valuable
information the writer has obtained, but to show the
paucity of results, where the harvest is great and the
60 MAPS AND THEIR MAKING
laborers so few. For the individual the task is a stag-
gering one; for the members working as a unit and
competently generaied b\' their chosen officers, that
becomes an agreeable occupation which would otherwise
be avoided as interminable. In the end the map pro-
duced would not only be valuable historically, but a
monument to the usefulness and vitality of this organiza-
tion. A future generation would find in the chart not
alone the data that they needed, but the evidence that in
this age, amidst the bustle and strain of an unexampled
national advance, there were those who. while identified
with that progress, had }'et the reverence for the past
and for the traditions that cast a halo about our heroic
age, to step aside for a while to pay that homage that is
always due from those who have benefited to those who
builded and passed away before the results of their
labors had rewarded their sight.
IX ^IEA[()RTA.\r.
E. O. Clark.
Peter O. Teriiune.
William Shanks.
Capt. a. a. Folsom.
Cornelius Christie.
Peter ItECART, Jr.
Christie Romaine.
George R. Button.
a. c. holdrum.
\A"illia]\i D. Snow.
RESOLUTIOXS OF Rb:SPECT.
The following" three sets of resolutions were passed
by the Executive Conimittee upon the death of the dis-
linguished and esteemed members whose names are men-
tioned. The\' constitute the last tributes which the
Societ}' can bestow upon its departed members.
Rcsoliilioiis of the Bcri:;cii Coiinly Historical So-
ciety upon the deatli of Conteliiis Cliristie.
W^HEREAS — It has pleased God to take from us our es-
teemed friend and fellow worker, Cornelius
Christie ; and
Whereas — Among many other activities in a long and
useful career Cornelius Christie was one of
' the charter members of and always an inde-
fatigable worker in the Bergen County His-
torical Society, including the presidency, and
in these various capacities contributing
largely to its success : and
Whereas — This society has been honored by leaving as
a member one wdio occupied so many posi-
tions of dignity and honor during his life,
positions of trust and res]X)nsibilit}' confer-
red upon him by his fellow citizens, and
which he filled with honor to himself and
usefulness to them for many years ; and
W^iiEREAS — This Society has deemed it proper and fitting
to record in permanent form the appreciation
of its members for the life and services of
our deceased member ; therefore,
Be It Resolved — That the Bergen County Historical
Society deplores the death of Cornelius Christie, and by
this resolution records its deep sense of loss in the re-
moval from our membership of one who was faithful,
loyal and true to the Society and its work, and be it
FuR'iHER Resolxed — That these resolutions be placed
in full upon the minutes of the Society as a fitting trib-
ute to the memorv and services of Cornelius Christie
64 RESOLUTIONS OF RESPECT
and a testimonial of the affection for him of our entire
memhership. and be pubhshed in full in the Year T'ook
c^f the Society and the County Press.
^^'lI.l.lA^[ D. Snow. \ '
RvRox Ci. \'.\x ThjRN'i:. - Cojniuiitcc.
DuR'iox 11. Ali.bke. j
Rcsoliifioiis of the Beri^cn County Historical Society
upon the death of Peter Bogert, Jr.
W'liicRiLAS — Tt has pleased God to take from us our es-
teemed friend Peter P>og-ert, Jr., and
WiiEREA.s — Amonor other activities, in a loui^- and useful
career, Ji^ifl.s:^ P)Oiiert was one of the earliest
members of and an ardent worker in the
Pero-en County TTistorical .Society, and in
that cai)acily contributed lar,<;-ely to its suc-
cess ; and
\\'iii:ri-:a.s — This Society has been honored by having
upon its membership roll one who has occu-
pied, with dignity and honor to himself, his
county and state, positions of trust and re-
sponsibility, on the P)ench, and as a member
of the local governing bcjdy of the Borough
of Bogota, where he passed his whole life and
died honored and respected at the ripe age of
eight\-eight years : and
\\'iii:ri:a.s — This Society has deemed it proper and tit-
ting to record in a permanent form the ap-
l)reciation of its members for the life and
services of our deceased member ;
r.F. Tt Resolved — That the Pergen Countv Historical
Society deplores the death of Judge Peter Bogert. Jr..
1)\- this resolution records its deep sense of loss in the
removal from our membership of one who has been
faithful, loval and true to the Society and its work, and
T^i-RTiiER Resoia'eo — That these resolutions be placed
in full upon the minutes of the Society as a fitting tribute
to the memory and services of Judge Bogert and a tes-
timonial lo hiiu of the esteem and atTection of our entire
RESOLUTIONS OF RESPECT 65
membersliip, and be published in full in the Year r»ook
of the Socict}' and in the Coiuity Press.
Cornelius DoREisrus. i
David D. Zabriskie. - Coiitiiiiffec.
Clarence Mahte. '
Rcsolniions of the Beri^cii Cotiiily Historical Socicly
}i[>on the death of Christie Roiiiaiite.
Whereas — In the wisdom of God. Christie Romaine,
our fellow-wx^rker and member of the Ber-
gen County Historical Society, has departed
this life ; and
Whereas — He was, for many years, identified with com-
mercial life in the City of Xew York, and
with the Hackensack ^lutual Building and
Loan Association, and has lived, consistently,
as a Christian gentleman, in our County all
his life ; therefore.
Be It Resolved — That this Society, by this resolution,
expresses its deep regret upon the loss of so worthy a
man, and deplores the loss to this Society of one who
was its steadfast supporter and hel])er ; and
Be Lr Fin^TiiER Resolned — That these resolutions be
entered in the Year Book of this Society and published
in the County Press.
January 30, 1909.
Cornelius Doremus. ]
David D. Zabriskie. - Committee.
Clarence Marie. j
ROLT. OF iMEMBERSHIP.
Honorary.
Xelson, Hon. William Paterson
Sanford, Rev. E. T West nth st., New York
Life Members.
Allison, William ( ) Englewood
Cameron, Alpin j Ridgevvood
Green, Allister i East 6ist St., New York
Zabriskie. Capt. A. C ^2 Heaver St., New York
Annual Members.
Abbott, John C Fort Lee
Ackerman. David I '. Closter
Adams. Dr. C V I lackensack
Adams. R. A 1 lohokus
Allbee, Hurton 11 1 lackensack
Banta, Irving- W
Bennett, H. N
Best, L. C Ridgetieid
Bird, E. K 1 lackensack
Bogert, A. D hjiglewood
Bogert, A. Z River Edge
Bogert, Cornelius W R Bogota
Bogert. Daniel G Englewood
Bogert, I. D Westwood
Bogert, John W I lohokus
Bogert, Mathew J Demarest
Brendon, Charles Oakland
BrinkerhoiT, A. H Rutherford
Brohel, Joseph A River Edge
Cane, Fred W Bogota
Cathcart. Dr. W. R 1 lackensack
Colver, Frederick L Tenafly
Connolly, Charles TT iMiglewood
Cook, Rev. H. D Ridgewood
Cooper. R. W W-w Milford
68 ROLL OF MEMBERSHIP
Crum, Fred H River Edge
Crum, ]\Irs. Fred H River Edge
Currie, Dr. D. A Fuiglewood
Dairymple, C. ]M.. Ph. H I lackensack
De Baun, Abrani 1 lackensack
Delamater, P. G Ridgewood
Demarest, A. S. D Hackensack
Demarest, I. I "
Demarest, Jacob R Englewood
Demarest, Hon. Milton 1 lackensack
Derby, Warren E F.nglewood
Diaz, Jose M 1 lackensack
Donaldson, George Cliffside
Doremus, Cornelius Ridgewood
Easton, E. D Areola
Edsall, J. G 1 'alisade Park
Edsall, S. S
Ely, William Xorth Hackensack
Engelke, A. L Englewood
Engelke, Mrs. A. L
Eairley. J. A I lackensack
Ford/F.R 24 I'.n.ad St., New York
Foster, W. Edward Hackensack
Fornachon, Maurice Ridgewood
Glover, T. N Brooklyn
Goetschius, Howard 15 Little Ferry
Grunow, Julius S Hackensack
Haggertv, M. L 2iO() Sherman Ave, Evanston. 111.
Hales, Henry Ridgewood
Harding, Harry B Hackensack
Haring, Tunis A ■'
Heck, John ^Vestwood
Holdendy, Dr. H. S Englewood
Jacobus, Martin R Ridgefield
JetTers, Daniel G 1 lackensack
Jeffers, "Sirs. Daniel G
Johnson, Rev. Arthur "
Johnson, James Le Baron
Johnson, William M " .
Koehler", Francis C XiM-th Hackensack
Lamb, C. R 23 Sixth Ave., New York
ROLL OF MEMBERSHIP 69
Lane, Jesse ; Xew Milford
Lane, Mrs. Jesse Xew Milford
Liddle, Joseph ( i i 2H I low cry, Xew York
Lincoln. |. C Hackensack
Linn, \\\ A
Mabie, Clarence
Mabon, J. S
Meyer, Francis E Closter
Miller, Livingston A Enj;lewood
Morrison, W. J.. Jr Ridgefield Park
]\Iorrow, Dwight ^^' Englewood
Perry, George H Hackensack
Pearsall, J. \V Ridgewood
Phillips, Miss Helen
Phillips, Miss Imogene "
Piatt, Dan Fellows Englewood
Poppen, Rev. Jacob W^ortendyke
Prosser, ]\Iiss Harriet Englewood
Ramsey, J. R Hackensack
Richardson, Milton T Ridgewood
Riley, John H LTillsdale
Rogers, Henry M Tenafly
Romeyn, James A Hackensack
Sage,'L. H
Schermerhorn. Gecirgc T Rutherford
Seufert, Charles (t Leonia
Seufert, William ]\r Englewood
Sheridan, E. J "
Smith, J. Spencer Tenaflv
Smith, W. Robert "
Stagg, Edward Leonia
St. John, Dr. David Hackensack
Tailman, William Englewood
Talmadge. Rev. D Westwood
Taylor, Ira "
Taylor, Mrs. Ira "
Terhune, P. Christie Hackensack
Terhune, Mrs. P. Christie "
Tierney, William. Jr Englewood
Tillotson, Joseph H "
Townshend, Dr. ]\L E \\^estwood
70 ROLL OF MEMBERSHIP
Van Buskirk, Arthur Hackensack
\'anderbeek, Nelson K Englewood
Van Home, Dr. Byron G "
Van Nest, Rev. J- A Ridgewood
Van Wagoner, Jacob "
Van Winkle, Arthur W Rutherford
Voorhis, Rev. J. C Bogota
Vroora, Rev. W. H Ridgewood
^^^akelee. Edmund W Demarest
Wakelee, Justus I Englewood
Walden, E. B Hackensack
Ward, Rev. Henry Closter
Wells, Benjamin G Hackensack
Westervelt, Mrs. F. A
Wheeler, George W "
Whitbeck, C. V. H
Willis, A. C Tenafly
Winton, Henry D Hackensack
^ood, Robert J. G Leonia
AVright, Wendel J Hackensack
Young, Dr. F. A 190 Wadsworth Ave., New York
Zabriskie, David D Ridgewood
Zabriskie, Everett L "
Honorary Members 2
Life Members 4
Annual Members 141
Total Membership 147
,^
Papers
and
Proceedings
1910- 1911
Number Seven
Bergen County
Historical Society
Papers and Proceedings
OF
The Bergen County Historical Society
1910-1911
NUMBER SEVEN
Officers for 1910
Secretary's Report, 1910, - - Burton H. Allbee
Bergen County Courts, - - William M. Johnson
Appendix, . _ _ William M, Johnson
Historic Closter, - - David D. Ackerman
Outlines of the Natural History of Bergen County, Henry Hales
Presentation Speech, - - - Judge Doremui
Articles of Incorporation of Bergen County Historical Society.
Constitution and By-Laws.
The Collections.
Loaned.
A Sketch of the Reformed Church of Paramus,
Henry D. Cook, Pastor
Membership Roll.
In Memoriam.
OFFICERS FOR THE YEAR 1910
President,
Everett L. Zabriskie.
Vice Presidents,
Isaac I. Demarest, Dr. Byron G. Van Horne,
Cornelius Doremus, Arthur W. Van Winkle,
Matt J. Bogert, Albert Z. Bogert,
Edward Stagg, Charles Brendon,
Robert T. Wilson, Howard B. Goetschius,
Secretary and Treasurer,
Burton H, Allbee.
Executive Committee,
(In addition to the officers.)
William M. Johnson, David D. Zabriskie,
Eugene K. Bird, Abram DeBaun.
Archives and Property Committee.
Mrs. F. a. Westervelt,
William M. Johnson, Burton H. Allbee,
Mrs. p. C. Terhune, P. C. Terhune,
Publication Committee,
Burton H. Allbee, Dr. Byron G. Van Horne.
David D. Zabriskie, Albert Z. Bogert.
THE SECRETARY TALKS.
The past year has been one of activity. The president,
Mr. Everett L. Zabriskie, early inaugurated a plan for
holding meetings in different parts of the county, one
each month, excepting the summer months, and until
the latter part of the year when sickness intervened, this
policy was carried out. Meetings have been held in
Ridgewood, Saddle River, Closter, Rutherford, besides
the executive meetings held in Hackensack, making sub-
stantially a meeting each month. At the open meetings
in the various towns there were addresses and papers
which were of a character to interest the people of those
portions of the county visited and a substantial increase
in membership resulted. The society through its presi-
dent and secretary took part in a testimonial meeting to
Garret A. B. Kaiser of Hohokus and was represented
at other functions during the year.
In October it took part in the celebration of the 250th
anniversary of the founding of Old Bergen, was re-
presented in the exhibit arranged at the Public Library at
Jersey City and two of its officers were guests at the
banquet given under the auspices of the Historical So-
ciety of Hudson County during that week.
The collections have increased. Mr. Clyde E. Hay has
purchased the Cass Collections, consisting principally of
Fort Lee Relics and has placed them in a case in conjunc-
tion with the Society's exhibits at the Johnson Library.
This collection will always remain in the care of the
Society.
The collection of Genealogical and historical data
has gone on about as it usually does. The genealogist
SECRETARY'S REPORT
has many hundreds of names and is frequently called
upon for information regarding the ancestors of families
now widely scattered. This department is one of the
most valuable in the Society's work.
The annual meeting was held on February 22 in Or-
itani Hall and the officers elected are shown in their
proper place. The officers and committees made favor-
able reports and the outlook for the year was considered
unusually promising.
After the annvial meeting the guests adjourned to the
dining room where a dinner was served which seemed
to satisfy those who partook of it. Following the dinner
this program added to the information and enjoyment of
the gathering:
Invocation.
Welcome President David D. Zabriskie
Address Judge Robert Carey
Dramatic Reading, "Mandy's Organ"
Miss Agnes Wilson Donaldson
Address Judge Francis Scott
Song, "Dutchland Beloved" Miss Anne B. Brohel
The membership has increased during the year, even
though a number of names have been taken from the
list. The total number is now 136, which represents a
company of all active members.
The work of the Society has been brought to the at-
tention of others in various ways. Mr. Burton H. AUbee
has delivered a series of illustrated lectures in the course
arranged by the Board of Education of Jeresy City
during the winter upon historical matters pertaining to
Bergen county. This course was requested by the man-
agement of the lecture bureau in Jersey City as supple-
mentary to the celebration there during October.
The work for the year is done. The progress made
has been entirely satisfactory, representing the slow, but
SECRETARY'S REPORT
none the less sure, work of collecting and arranging or
classifying the facts with reference to the county history
or the history of the families whose founders were
amonsf the founders of the Great Commonwealth.
BERGEN COUNTY COURTS
AN ADDRESS
DELIVERED BY
WILLIAM M. JOHNSON,
at the laying of the Corner Stone of the New Court
House July 6, 19 lo.
On this very interesting occasion, when we are about
to lay the corner stone of the imposing and spacious
Court House which is to be erected on this spot, it
seems appropriate to consider the historical associations
of the locality where it is to stand. This is indeed his-
toric ground. More than than 250 years ago a hardy
group of Dutch pioneers pushed their way into the wild-
erness and shared with the Indians a home in this pleas-
ant valley. On the southerly bank of the creek, near
Hudson street and within sight of the spot whereon we
are standing tradition assigns the first dwelling house in
Hackensack. In 1688 an act of the Governor and Coun-
cil provide that a court for the trial of small causes be
held at the house of Dr. Johannes (Van Imburgh) on
the Hackensack River for the Inhabitants of New Bar-
badoes and Acquackanonk, then part of the County of
Essex. The Old Church on the Green was founded in
1686, so that at that time there must have been a con-
siderable settlement at Hackensack.
In the year 1709 New Barbadoes township was de-
tached from Essex County and set over to and became a
part of the County of Bergen and became the county
seat. The first court house was erected in 1715, on land
purchased from Barent Coal, located South of the Creek,
consisting of ten acres of land extending to the Hacken-
sack River. Its requirements for public purposes must
have been very limited for we find that in May, 1720
the freeholders leased to one John Evertson the Court
10 BERGEN COUNTY COURTS
House and land to the first day of May, 1723, for the sum
of '3 pounds per year "as he had before," and in August,
1723, it was agreed that said John Evertson should have
the Court House and land eight years to commence May
I, 1723, on condition that he repair the building and lay
up a new wall &c.
In 1730 the court house and land were sold to Hend-
rick Brass for 150 pounds and another court house was
erected on the Green near Main street. The building
then erected, whose dimensions were 48x30 feet, was
used by the courts until the Revolutionary War, when
the proximity of the enemy and frequent raids to which
Hackensack was exposed, made it unsafe to hold courts
in this place. Accordingly in 1778 the legislature au-
thorized the erection of a temporary Gaol at Yough-
pough near the Ponds Church, which church has re-
cently celebrated its two hundredth anniversary. The
courts were held at private houses at Pompton and else-
where and also in the new gaol. In 1780 the Court
House at Hackensack was burned by the Hessians to-
gether with two other buildings in the vicinity. After
the restoration of peace in 1783, court was held at the
inn of Archibald Campbell opposite the gr.een, where the
Union League -building now stands, at the corner of
Morris street. In July, 1784, a new and third court
house was authorized and was built on a lot conveyed
by Peter Zabriskie situated on Main street near the cor-
ner of Bridge street. It is described as being 30 feet
wide, and 60 feet long between the walls, two stories
high, with a partition wall between the Court Rooms and
Gaol. The appropriation therefor was 800 pounds
equivalent at that time to about $2,000.
In 1805 the County bought from Nehemiah Wade and
John Anderson land on the West side of Main street
where the Susquehanna R. R. is now located, on which
was erected a small building used as the Clerk's and Sur-
rogate's office until the year 1853.
The Court House of 1784, in due time became insuf-
ficient for its purposes and a new one became necessary.
Much controversy arose as to its site, some wanted it
located further up town, but the present location seems
BERGEN COUNTY COURTS 11
to have been settled by the gift by Robert Campbell, a
distinguished lawyer of the county, of the land adjoin-
ing the Hackensack Creek, facing the green, where the
present Court House stands. This building, the fourth
in number, was erected in 1819, was several times en-
larged, and was reconstructed in 1892 as can be seen by
the conspicuous tablet on the front.
While the old court house answered its purpose well
for many years, it has at last become quite inadequate
for the uses required of it. The recent remarkable
growth of Bergen County in population and in business
activities has vastly increased the demands for more
room and better facilities for the disposing of the public
business.
A few statistics will show how inadequate the old
court house has become. When it was built in 1819 the
total population of the county, including that which was
later set ofif as Hudson County and a large territory
forming part of Passaic County, was but 18,000. Fifty
years ago the population of the county was 21,600. In
1870 it was only 30,000. In 1880 36,700, in 1890 65,000,
in 1900 78,000, in 1905 100,003, ^^'^^ the recent census, the
population in 1910 is 138,000. The opening up of new
lines of travel, and the advantageous location of the
county by reason of its proximity to the great city of
New York make it reasonably certain that this influx of
new people will continue so that we can look forward to
still greater demands upon the capacity of the public
buildings. Already the public is suffering for want of
sufficient accommodations. The jail is overcrowded at
times to an extent that makes it both unsanitary and in-
sufficient. Additional court rooms are required. The
facilities for the judges, the Prosecutor, the Sheriff, the
County Clerk, the Surrogate, the Collector, the Superin-
tendent of Public Instruction, the Board of Freeholders
and its officers and attendants are so inadequate that the
public business is delayed and greatly embarrassed.
The facts which I have stated are sufficient to show
that the new court house is not an unnecessary luxury,
but that it is an absolute, pressing and immediate neces-
sity for the proper transaction of the public business of
12 BERGEN COUNTY COURTS
this great growing county. In planning for its con-
struction, proper consideration no doubt has been made
for future growth as well as for present requirements.
The controversy as to the site of the new building was
finally settled in favor of the present location, whether
wisely or not, admits of difference of opinion, but the
site having been secured and the foundations laid, we
should all cheerfully hope that the new edifice will prove
both adequate and architecturally satisfactory to justify
the enormous cost of construction.
I want to congratulate the Commissioners, the architect
and the builders, as well as the people of Bergen County
upon the progress of the work which after so many
weary months of litigation, is now permitted to go for-
ward, holding out the promise that within a definite and
reasonable time, our courts and officers will be able to
dispose of the public business efficiently and promptly
in apartments adequate and convenient for all concerned.
The administration of justice, through the courts of
law, is the most solemn and important exercise of the
powers of government. The government which we have
adopted in this country by the free choice of the people,
is based upon the absolute independence of the judicial
department. The courts stand for the protection of
rights, for the redressing of wrongs, for the punishment
of crime. They are the great safeguards of the freedom
of the people, hence we clothe them with dignity and
hedge them in by impressive formalities that they may
receive the respect and obedience which their exalted
prerogatives and powers demand. Hence we build these
court houses as temples of justices, substantial, ornate
and commodious as the appropriate forum for the great
duties which are here to be exercised. The system of
Common Law which is administered here comes down
to us from Colonial times, and has its origin in the Com-
mon Law of England. Changes in forms and in prac-
tice are made from time to time to meet the requirements
of modern conditions, but the fundamental principles of
the law founded as they are on inherent rights continue
from generation to generation substantially unchanged.
But this does not mean that the law is stagnant and irres-
BERGEN COUNTY COURTS 13
ponsive to the forward march of events in this busy
world of ours. The tendency of the day is towards sim-
pHfication of pleadings and practice. Our county court
which in former years might be held by a dozen judges
is now presided over by a single judge with marked ef-
ficiency. The technicalities of ancient forms of plead-
ings and practice have given way to more simple and
liberal rules, but still we have much complaint (and
justly) of the laws' delays, and of the uncertainties of
judicial procedure. But far greater progress is possible
in correcting these evils if the people so will. It is prob-
able, however, that no important steps towards this end
can be made without a change in our organic law. An
opportunity to make such a change was offered last Sep-
tember when certain amendments to the constitution,
changing our judiciary system were submitted to a vote
of the people, and although these amendments had the
support of the great majority of the members of the
legal profession, and of our chancellors and judges, and
were by elaborate and convincing arguments both printed
and oral, shown to be the means of making the adminis-
tration of justice more certain and prompt and especial-
ly helpful to the man of limited means who might un-
fortunately be involved in litigation, yet the amendments
were defeated by a great majority of the votes cast. No
attempt was made to show that they would not result in
simplification of the practice and correction of the laws'
delays, but the opposition was either prejudiced or
ignorant, and based on no intelligent grounds. It was
said that because the lawyers favored it, they must have
some selfish motive which led them to advocate the
change. It is a singular fact that while these very voters
would trust their property, their liberty and even their
life itself, to the efforts of their lawyers, confident that
they would receive honest and efficient service, yet when
these same lawyers and judges of the highest character
advise them that these amendments would be helpful and
should be adopted, they regard their opinions with dis-
trust and bury the amendments under an adverse vote.
I am proud of say that Bergen was one of the few coun-
14 BERGEN COUNTY COURTS
ties that gave a majority for the amendments and that it
was the largest given by any county in the State.
You may think I am far afield when on an occasion
like this I refer to these matters, but I want the people
to know that when they complain of the laws' delays, of
the vexatious and expensive litigation possible under the
present system, in carrying a cause through our appel-
late courts, that they are themselves to blame, and that
they may expect no relief until they are willing to adopt
such a change in our judicial system as will tend to make
the course of justice simple, prompt and certain.
The passing of the old court house practically marks
the end of an era, wherein Bergen was known as a rural
county, and in which the farming interests were pre-
dominant. The times have changed and we are changing
with them. The characteristics of this end of the state
are rapidly becoming urban and suburban. Hamlets and
villages are growing into towns and cities. Commuters
by the thousands have here found agreeable homes for
themselves and their families and have brought a great
population of intelligent progressive citizens, whose
energy and enterprise have done much to advance the
interests of the communities of which they have become
a part. Within three miles of the railroad station at
Rutherford there is a resident population of approxi-
mately 40,000. So in other parts of the county, con-
gested areas are becoming more frequent. The gaps
between nearby towns are steadily closing and the time
is not far distant when consolidations of adjacent muni-
cipalities will make more than one city of importance.
Whether or not this crowding population will add to the
charm of suburban life is a matter of taste and sentiment,
but we must recognize existing facts, and rejoice that
the new population is in the main intelligent, enterprising
and eminently desirable.
The old court house has in its ninety years of existence
witnessed many changes in the customs, manners and
interests of the people whom it was built to serve. Here
have been notable legal battles over property rights or
private wrongs, and countless trials with their verdicts
of guilt or acquittal. Here have sat judges, honored.
BERGEN COUNTY COURTS 15
admired and beloved, against no one of whom the voice
of scandal or suspicion has ever been raised. The great
and honored names of Bedle and Dixon within the
memory of most of us, are associated with the adminis-
tration of justice in this place. But all this is passing
away, their names and the names of counsel whose voices
were often heard in these chambers of justice, will soon
be but a faint memory, a mere matter of history. For
this building whose corner stone is laid today is for the
present and for the future. It will have its own activi-
ties, its own histories and tragedies. At the end of an-
other hundred years may it still stand as an imposing
monument to the security of life and liberty, the redress
of wrongs, the enforcement of rights, a temple of justice
having the respect and veneration of generations yet to
come constituting the vast population which in the course
of that long period will have filled our hills and valleys
with a free, intelligent and prosperous people.
APPENDIX.
by
W. M. JOHNSON
The deed for the land on which the first court house was
erected is recorded in the Clerk's office of Bergen County. It
contains some interesting recitals, and is substantially as fol-
lows :
Barent Coax of the City of New York,
gentleman, and Mabgakita his wife,
of the one part,
and I Deed dated Aug. P,
Thomas Van Bosskerk of Hackensack, 1715 Rec B of
county of Bergen and Eastern Divi-j'' Deed's p. 193 &c
sion of the Province of Nova Ceasa-i
rea, Esquire John Bertan Esqb of^
New Barbadoes and Pahlus Van Deu
Beek of New Barbadoes Yoeman, of
the second part.
Whereas the said Barent Coal by virtue of a conveyance under
the hands and seals oif John Varick of New Barbadoes aforesaid,
merchant, and Sarah his wife, dated the twenty-third day of
November, 1706, stands legally instituted to a certain house and
lot of land situate, laying and being at New Barbadoes, in the
town, county and division and Province aforesaid.
Begins with the west north\\'est line from the Hackensack
Eiver running up into the road laid out and being used former-
ly, from thence in a northerly course along the said road into
the land of Dr. Johannes Van Imburgh, thence in an east south-
east course down to the said river, and thence southerly to the
place where it began. Containing in breadth 25 paces along the
road into a black oak tree, being the third tree of the land of
David Provoost. Bounded easterly to said river, southerly to
David Provoost, westerly to said road and northerly to land of
said Johannes Van Imburgh. Containing two acres more or less.
And also by \'irtue of a certain conveyance under the hands
and seals of David Provoost of the city of New York merchaint,
and Catharine, his wife, dated the tenth day of June, 1709, of a
certain messuage, tenement, house and lot of land, situate as
aforesaid, bounded southerly to land now in occupation of John
Wright, westerly to the Polls Valloy (commonly so called),
northerly to said Barent Coal and John Van Imburgh, and
18 APPENDIX
easterly to the river aforesaid. Containing eigtt acres, or
thereabouts, being in breadth in front and rear about 100 yards,
running with the west northwest line on both sides to the Polls
Valloy aforesaid, which two said lots the said Barent Coal since
reduced into one lot and is bounded by said reduction easterly
by said Hackensack River, southerly by John Wright afore-
said westerly to said Polls Valloy and northerly to Johannes
Van Imburgh and the road aforesaid, and containing in breadth
and qiuantity as above specified and set fonth.
The de'ed then recites an act of the General Assembly of the
Province of Nova Cesarea passed in the twelfth and thirteenth
years of the reign of her late Majesty entitled An act for rais-
ing of money for building and repairing of gaols and court
bouses within ■each respective county of this Province, and to
repeal the act passed for that purpose in the year 1709, which
enacts that two freeholders of each town and precinct in each
county shall annually 'be chosen, Avho or a major part of them
in conjunction with the justices of the peace of each county, or
any three of them, one whereof being of the quorum, shall meet
togetlier and agree upon such sums as shall be needful for
repairing such gaols and court houses as are already built, and
for building such as are wanting, and to appoint managers to
do and see done siich things and works as they shall agree upon
to be done and performed.
Also recites that pursuant to such act of justices of the peace
and freeholders of the county of Bergen at a Court of General
Quarter Sessions held at the town of New Barbadoes on the
second and third days of this instant month of August, did re-
solve, order and direct to purchase, build and repair a county
house and prison in said town of New Barbadoes near to the
Dutch Church by the Hackens'ack River, and accordingly ap-
pointed managers for that purpose.
The said Barent Coal and wife in consideration of 140 pounds
current money of the Province of New York, paid by Thomas
Van Bosskerk, John Bertan and Paulus Van Der Beek, man-
agers, by the 'authority aforesaid appointed for that purpose,
did convey to them all those aforementioned two several lots
of land reduced into one lot.
In trust, nevertheless, that pursuant to the a-bove-mentioned
axat, they shall only keep, enjoy and possess and hold said lots
of ground for the common and general use of tne county of
Bergen aforesaid. ;ir.d to the use of liis ^Majesties courts (and
for gaols) from time to time and at all times hereafter to be
held there, and for sn.c'h other public uses as are Toy law estab-
lished, and otherwise visual, and customary at. in and by court
houses and jails within this province and for no other use or
xii&es Av'hatsoever.
The said grantees covenant that they will stand and be
seized of the reduced lot of ground and premises, for the sole
and proper uses aiforesaid and no other use whatsoever.
Acknowledged Nov. 3, 1715 before David Provoost.
APPENDIX
19
The Court House lot was suibsequently conveyed by deed prob-
ably written on the back <oi the foregoing deed, as folio wis:
WiLiJAM Provoost Paulus Van Der
Beek and Richard Edsall being im-
powered and appointed by the Jus-
tices and Freeholders of said County,!
as may more at large appear by the
records of the Justices and Freehold-
ers.
to
Henbick Brass
Deed dated Nov. 22,
1731. Cons. 150
pounds. Ack. Nov.
22, 1731. Rec. Book
B of Deeds p. 203
&c.
CONVEYS
"All that right, title, interest of and in the recited
county court house and tract of land and premises within con-
tained and is more particularly abutted and bounded."
Henrick Brass
to
Jacobus Van Vooehees
J
Deed dated Nov. 25,
1735. Cons. 120
pounds. Ack. Apl.
30, 1736. Rec. Book
B of Deeds p. 360
&e.
CONVEYS
"All that my right, title, interest of and in ye recited convey-
ance and tract of land and premises within contained, and is
more particular abutted and abounded."
The deed for the land on which the Court House of 1819 was
ereot'ed was subject to certain conditions and is as follows:
Robert Campbell
to
The Board of Chosen Frreeholdebs
OF the County of Bergen
Deed dated May 20,
1818. Cons. $5. &c.
Rec. Book P-2 of
Deeds p. 119 &c.
"But upon the express condition that it be used 'by the Board
of Chosen Freeholders of the County of Bergen and their suc-
cessors at all times hereafter for thB purpose of erecting and
maintaining a court house and jail, and such otiier public build-
ings as the said board may deem necessary and proper thereon
for public convenience and in default thereof that it is to revert
to the said Robert Campbell Ms 'heirs and assigns."
20 APPENDIX
The minutes of the "Justices and Freeholders" ol the County
of Bergen deposited in the Clerk's office of the County, contain
miany items of interest concerning the old court houses.
The following is a reference to the gaol at the Ponds. IVIay
15, i780. Board met at Pompton at house of Martin Ryerson.
The Board agreed with Andrew Coal for the use of a piece of
land whiieh he lately bought of Henry Van Allen on the east
side of the road which leads from Pond Church up Ramapogh
River, and between the said road and the mill pond, and a
sufficiency besides to make up an acre in the whole, on which
they agreed to build their gaol. The Board further agreed
with Andrew Coal that after the county had done with the
said building as a goal and court house, he should have same
for the use of the acre of land while in possession of the county,
excepting the jail locks, bars, gates and other jail irons which
belong to the county and to be removed when the building is
given up to Coal. Appointed Stephen Bartholf, Jacobus S. Bogert
managers aforesaid building.
The board ordered ©aid jail to be built with square timber
and 30 feet long 20 feet wide from outside to outside, 7 feet
high from the lower floor to the upper floor, 4 feet high from
the upper floor to the eaves. One half to be partitioned off into
two gaols, the other half to be finished for gaol keeper. Upper
fttory to be finished in proper manner to hold the court. The
board gave managers liberty to use bars, grates and old irons
belonging to the old gaol at New Barbadoes and ordered the
county collector to pay to the order of the managers any sum
not exceeding 200 p. for erecting said building.
"HISTORIC CLOSTER."
By David D. Ackerman.
Introduction. — I have been invited to write about "His-
toric Closter." I have accepted the invitation with pleas-
ure and regret. I am glad to render any service however
slight to the "Bergen County Historical Society" ; but I
regret that I am to give this address, because there are
life long residents in Closter who could give from per-
sonal knowledge a much more interesting speech on this
topic than I. The village is not very old and it had its
beginning in times within the memory of some now
living here.
It is not my intention to give a history of the land
grants of this community, as our late neighbor Harvey,
the best historian of Bergen County, says : "I am forced to
the conclusion that he who would make a successful plot-
ting of the early grants of land in Northern New Jer-
sey, would need to spend at least five years in a house
to house hunt for the necessary data in trunks and chests
of the old pioneers, now hidden away and forgotten in
the garrets of their descendents." I will simply mention
briefly a few features of "Historic Closter."
The Indians. — The original inhabitants of this section
were a tribe of Hackensackey Indians, to whom all the
land in Bergen County originally belonged. The tribe
was important and quite notorious. In 1665 it numbered
1,000 fighting men. This once numerous and powerful
tribe is almost extinct. The only descendants are a few
half breeds that inhabit the Ramapo Mountains in the
western part of the country.
"Closter." — I have been unable to trace the name
"Closter" to its origin. No one seems to know positively
where the name came from. It is said that in our old
church records the name is spelled Clocester, which is
some evidence that the territory was probably named
after some place in old England. It is certain however
that the name was in use long before the Revolutionary
22 HISTORIC CLOSTER
War, and was applied to that section of the country-
lying above "English Neighborhood" as far north as the
State line. This whole section contained only a few
pioneer settlers. It was not until the building of the
Northern Railroad in 1859 and the establishment of a
station at this point that the village was built.
Early Settlers. — During the seventeenth century land
patents to all the property in Northern New Jersey and
Southern New York were granted at various times by
both England and Holland. Immigration from these
countries resulted in gradual settlements. This section
of New Jersey was settled chiefly by the Dutch, as is
indicated by such names as "Tiena Kill," "Bergen," and
"Scraalenburgh." The tract of land where Closter vil-
lage stands was granted in 1669 to De Hart, whose heirs
sold it to Bernardus Ver Valen, who in turn conveyed
portions of it to Matthew M. Bogert, Peter M. Bogert,
Martin Powlews, Walter Parsells, and others who settled
it. A complete list of these names is given in Harvey's
History and it would be tiresome to repeat them here.
Until 1772 the colony of New York claimed this tract as
being within its boundaries and so treated it.
An Ancient Deed. — A short time ago I was permitted
to inspect an ancient deed now given to the Historical
Society which has never been recorded and which has
been kept in the Bogert family about 170 years. This
deed runs in part as follows :
This indenture made the sixteenth day of January,
in the fourteenth year of the reign of his sovereign Lord
George the Second by the grace of God of Great Britian,
France and Ireland, King (Defender of the Faith), and
in the year of our Lord Christ one thousand seven hun-
dred and forty, between (Barnardis Vervelle) of Tap-
pan, in the County of Orange, in the Province of New
York, Yeomen of the (part) and (Mat)tyes Bogert of
the same place Yeomen of the other part (witne)sseth
that the said (Bernardis Verv)elle have granted
bargained (sold enfeoffed conveyed released and con-
firmed and by these presents do grant bargain sell en-
foffee convey release and (confirm unto the said M(att)
y(es) bogert his heirs and assigns forever all that tract
HISTORIC CLOSTER 25
of land lying- and being in Tappan) county and province
aforesaid beginning at the East (Sy)de of a certain
brook known by the name of Shi ne flys Cill by a
maypell Sapplin marked on the South Syde mb and on
the North Syde Jm and o(n) (the—) Syde wb from
thence on south East Coors by a lyne of marked trees
to Hudson's river then
Said River ten chains then Northwest alonge a lyne of
marked trees to brook aforesaid then nor(th)erly
(along) (s)aid brook on Cill ten chains to the first sta-
tion containing two hundred and fifty acres being butted
and bounded on the north by a lyne of trees on the East
by Hudson's river on the south by a lyne of marked trees
on the we(st) by the brook or Cill aforesaid being the
same tract of land that the said mattyes bogert base now
in his poss(ession).
This ancient deed is evidence of three things, (i) It
proves Harvey's statement that Bernardus Ver Valen
sold a large tract of what is now Closter property to
Matthias Bogert. (2) That this section in 1740 was
part of Tappan in the Province of New York and (3)
That many of our ancient title deeds are hidden away in
trunks unrecorded just as Harvey said they were.
A part of the tract on the north containing 1,300 acres
was conveyed in 1710 to two brothers Barent and Re-
solvent Naugle. Gradually the northern district was
settled by such men as John W. Ferdon, Abram Haring,
John J. Naugle, John Sneden and others. These early
settlers lived miles apart and held little communication
with the outside world.
Incidents of the Revolutionary War. — Much of the
surrounding country on account of its proximity to New
York is rich with reminiscences of the Revolution.
Many towns have Washington Headquarters; Paramus
has the Romance of the Widow Provost; and even this
sparsely settled section played a part in the war. The
following abstract is from a letter dated Closter May
10, 1779.
"This day about one hundred of the enemy came by
way of New Dock, attacked this place carried ofif
Cornelius Tallman, Samuel Demarest, Jacob Cole, and
24 HISTORIC CLOSTER
George Buskirk ; killed Cornelius Demarest ; wounded
Henry Demarest, Jermiah Vestervelt, Dow Tallman, etc.
They burned the dwelling houses of Peter Demarest,
Matthias Bogert and Cornelius Hugler, Samuel Dema-
rest's house and barn, John Banta's house and barn, and
Cornelius Bogert's and John Vestervelt's barns. They
attempted to burn every barn they entered but the fire
was in some places extinguished. They destroyed all
the furniture, etc., in many houses and abused many of
the women. In their retreat they were so closely pur-
sued by the militia and a few continential troops that
they took off no cattle. They were of Buskirk's troops,
some of our Closter and Old Tappan neighbors, joined
by a party of negroes. I should have mentioned the
negroes first in order to grace the British Arms."
March of Cornzvallis. — It was in our vicinity that
Cornwallis with his army landed at the "Old Closter
Dock," came up the Palisades and marched across the
State in pursuit of Washington's Army.
The story is handed down through several generations
that on the occasion of this march a young negro girl
working in the kitchen of the great great grandfather of
Matthew J. Bogert looked out of the window. What she
saw caused her to run into the living room where the
family were seated and with wide-open eyes and in her
native dialect exclaimed — "Bogert's fields are full of
Red Coats."
Slavery. — It will doubtless be a surprise to most of
you to learn that slavery existed at one time in the
Northern States. Yet such was the case. A will made
by Matthew Bogert, dated Aug. ii, 1784 and probated
in the prerogative court in the same year reads :
"I further give to her (his wife) the care and use of
all of my personal estate (except the two female slaves
the one named Lay and the other Shantown). I fur-
ther order and direct my executor hereafter named in a
reasonable time after my decease to dispose of the afs'd
two female slaves either at publick vendue or private
sale as they in their descretion shall think best and
most advantageous."
Ancient Customs. — Previous to 1858 the residents of
HISTORIC CLOSTER 2S
this valley seldom visited the City of New York, except
strictly for business or to convey their farm products to
market as the latter was their principal source of in-
come. The "Liberty Pole Hotel," an old inn whose
history antedates the Revolution, stood near the present
site of the Westside Presbyterian Church in Englewood.
An old stage of ancient design ran from this hostelry to
Hoboken. It carried no mail as the nearest post-office
was at Hackensack. It is hard to realize that many who
were born so near the City lived to a good old age and
passed away without ever having walked its busy streets.
The inhabitants were an honest, industrious people, car-
ing little for the busy world beyond them. Their friends
outside of their immediate neighborhood were few. The
entire population of a township comprised but a small
number of names as they married and intermarried, and
were nearly all first, second, or third cousins.
Fortunes were slowly accumulated, and rarely lost
as the people seldom speculated. Good health and old
age were the rewards for their contented and temperate
lives.
The Railroad. — In 1858 the Northern Railroad was
built. The road ran but one train a day for some time.
One baggage and passenger car accommodated the
traveling public. The trains ran through the open cut
into the Pennsylvania Depot for some years. The Com-
pany's removal to Chambers Street met with strong op-
position by many of its ptarons. Thomas W. Demarest
was the road's first president. The first train must have
been an awakening to the minds of the people of this
vicinity and filled them with astonishment as it went
roaring up the valley like an uncaged lion. It was to
be the last of their isolation from the world.
J. Wyman Jones, I. Smith Homans, Jr., and Sheppard
Homans were the first New Yorkers to come into this
valley for a permanent residence after the Northern
Railroad was completed. Their zeal and enthusiasm in-
spired many others to join them in the new enterprise.
With the building of the Railroad the History of our
village as a community may be said to commence. At
the time the Railroad was constructed in 1858, there
26 HISTORIC CLOSTER
were only two houses in the vicinity. One was the
house where Mr. D. W. Lozier resides ; and the other
was an old stone house that stood where Mr. Wadham's
house is now standing. This stone house was owned by
Mr. Matthew Bogert and has long since been destroyed.
It is difficult to think that if a person wanted to go
to New York in those days he would have to drive or else
go to the "Liberty Pole Hotel" and take the stage. A
round trip would take about two days. Many of the
people never saw New York. Their shopping was fre-
quently done in the City by the farmers who would drive
their products to the market. Mr. Ben Blackledge of
Closter tells me that in '58 he was a young lad living at
what was then called lower Closter, now Cresskill. He
took great delight in going down with the other young
people who had never seen an engine to look at the
engine and ride on the dirt cars when they were building
the road.
When the road was completed a station was made at
Closter where our Main Street crosses the track.
Houses sprang up on all sides. The enthusiasm of the
movement is well known in the name "Closter City,"
It resembled the establishment of some Western mining
towns during the gold fever.
The building of the Railroad made our community
possible. Take the railroad away and you cut the great
artery which connects us with the outer world. The
doom of the village would be sounded. The thought
throws emphasis on one of the land marks of "Historic
Closter," which still furnishes and in all probability will
furnish one of the great blessings we enjoy and should
silence much of the unjust criticism that we hear about
the Railroad.
John Henry Stephens. — In the early progress of
Closter the name of John Henry Stephens stands pre-
eminent. Mr. Stephens came to Closter in 1858 and fol-
lowed his trade of carpentry until the opening of the
Railroad in the following year, when he began to specu-
late in real estate.
As soon as the railroad was constructed Mr. Stephens
took an active part in planning out and developing the
HISTORIC CLOSTER 27
village. He laid out the plan of the roads, all converging
to the square in Main Street. He built the store where
Mr. Ferdon now has his grocery. He was ticket agent
for twenty-five years for the Northern Railroad ; and, as,
the Company had no depot, he sold tickets in the store.
Mr. Stephens was also postmaster for thirty years and at
the same time he carried on his general store. He may
justly be called, says Harvey, "The Father of Closter."
"Chster City Hotel."— With the building of the Rail-
road and the opening of Stephens' store came the hotel
— still standing — which bore the sonorous name, "Closter
City Hotel." The ballroom now used for smokers' con-
ventions and business meetings was used for social
gatherings and (on Sundays) religious gatherings.
These meetings conducted by the Rev. E. S. Hammond
were the beginning of the Reformed Church of "Closter
City," which has continued to the present.
Schools. — The oldest school in the neighborhood was
held in the little old school house at Demarest. The
building is still standing. Hammond Hall has the unique
distinction of being Closter's first school house where,
in 1863, under the direction and with the assistance of
Rev. E. S. Hammond, the founder of the Reformed
Church of this village, "Closter Institute" opened its
doors under the able management of Miss Isabella Ham-
mond. It was for years the only private school on this
part of the Northern Railroad, its pupils not only com-
ing from the towns on the direct line of the Railroad
from Piermont to Englewood, but from many places in
Bergen and Rockland Counties. There was no public
school in the village of Closter until the fall of 1870,
when school was opened in a barn standing back of the
property now occupied by Miss Valentine, called the
"Van Nostrand barn." This barn has since been moved
by our fellow citizen, Mr. Francis E. Meyer, to the Main
Street where it has been renovated, repaired, added to,
and made into a combined store and apartment house.
In 187 1 a permanent site for a public school was pur-
chased on the corner of Demarest and Durie Avenues,
where a handsome brick building was erected, containing
four large airy classrooms. This building remained in
28 HISTORIC CLOSTER
active use for school purposes until the spring of 1907,
when it was decided to use the new school building ex-
clusively and the old property was sold to the Closter
Realty Company. The purchaser has remodeled the
building into apartments. Thus both of these old school
buildings have been used for other purposes and they
are likely to be preserved for years to come.
I have given some incidents connected with the early
history of Closter and brought my narrative down to the
year 1870 at which time the village was established and
the foundation laid for our subsequent prosperity and
growth. This section has not played a conspicuous part
in history but its traditions are dear to us and we may
feel justly proud of the plain country people who have
handed down this village to us. If they were too few
in number to attract attention, they at least made the
most of their lives. They are the worthy founders of a
worthy succession. Those who came after them, whose
doings I am not privileged to chronicle at this time,
have also done very worthy things.
The difference between "Historic Closter" of 1870
and our modern municipality is shown in the new
houses, city water, electric lights, telephone service,
handsome school building, national bank, stores,
churches, and sidewalks. All of these improvements are
to be entered to the credit of the later and present
generation.
Closter has passed through the earliest hours of its
day. It has not yet emerged into the full sunlight of
the morning. That time will approach when we shall
enjoy the advantages of a larger and wealthier popula-
tion ; when a trolley service will connect us not only
north and south but also east and west ; when the North-
ern Railroad will be electrified ; when an adequate sewer-
age system will be installed ; when a public library
supplying educational advantages for all shall be opened
to the public ; when our municipal authorities will have
a Borough Hall as a permanent home giving comfort
worthy of the services rendered and a dignity propor-
tionate to their importance; when a fully equipped high
school shall be established embracing within its curricu-
HISTORIC CLOSTER 29
lum thorough instruction in both the arts and sciences ;
when the moral and spiritual tone of the entire commun-
ity shall be uplifted by a more earnestly consecrated
church membership and the churches themselves shall
work together with a stronger feeling of fraternity and
loyalty — then, and not till then, will the high-noon of
Closter's day be at hand.
As we move forward we must be on the lookout
against those forms of disease which sooner or later in-
evitably attack every large community — the coming of
poverty and sloth ; the appearance of vice in all its forms ;
the development of the criminal class ; and the corrup-
tion of our politics.
Closter has been free from these things. The life of
"Historic Closter" was simple and pure. The work of
foundation and development has been well done and the
richest legacy which the early settlers have handed down
to us is the inspiration which we may receive from a
study of their lives and works, to go forward with high
aims and ideals for the peace, comfort, welfare, and ad-
vancement of the people and to keep them so far as we
can free from civic disease of every form.
Bibliography from which this was drawn:
(i) Genealogical History of Hudson and Bergen
Counties by Cornelius Harvey, page 4.
(2) Atlas of Bergen County, by A. H. Walker, page
32.
(3) Atlas of Bergen County, by A. H. Walker, page
25, 26.
(4) Genealogical History of Hudson and Bergen
Counties by Cornelius Harvey, page 27 and 28.
(5) Genealogical History of Hudson and Bergen
Counties.
(6) Atlas of Bergen County, by A. H. Walker, page
27.
(7) Englewood, by Humphrey, page 22.
OUTLINES OF THE NATURAL HISTORY OF
BERGEN COUNTY.
By Henry Hales,
The natural history of Bergen County is remarkably
varied. This county occupies a position about central
on the eastern border of the continent, the flora and
fauna over-laps as it were, giving it a position of great
importance to botanists and ornithologists ; its surface
composed of hills, valleys and the remarkable Palisades,
one of the world's wonders, and meadows, all drained by
beautiful streams, gives it a reputation with the Ameri-
can Geographical Society as being one of the healthiest
spots in the United States. I was told this by one of its
presidents. Little streams near Ridgewood bred mus-
sels some of which had pearls in them. When they were
found some years ago a rush was made to the streams
and they were soon all cleaned out; some of the pearls
were of great value; there is one (or a fac-simile) in the
Museum of Natural History, New York, described in
the booklet on the case as valued at $2,000 said to have
been found near Paterson. John Andrew Marinus, of
Glen Rock, was one of the collectors and received $200
from Tiffany, New York, for one pearl.
The fish of the county are interesting. The county
line bordering on the Hudson river. Shad were once so
numerous that farmers of the county salted them for
winter use. They would cut them in thin slices and eat
them with their bread and butter. Besides other fish of
the Hudson you perhaps know that our smaller streams
were well stocked with smaller fish, one of the most
interesting being the Lamprey, resembling an eel, which
instead of having gills, breathed through holes in the
sides near the head ; they are not as numerous as former-
ly, when they used to be peddled about the county in
carts. I have procured them in the spring near New
Milford from the Hackensack river.
This neighborhood was once the home of deer, bears
32 OUTLINES OF THE NATURAL HISTORY
and other beasts of prey. I will just mention that Mrs.
Van Dien, mother of the late Herman Van Dien, of
Paramus, told me she remembered when the last bear
was killed near the Sprout brook. The otter is now
probably extinct, though one was killed a few years ago
in the Lower Saddle river.
The wild flowers of the county are a delight to lovers
of nature, many of the Northern meet the Virginian
flora and overlap. We have some of the beautiful
orchids, lady's slippers, trailing arbutus, hepatica
lupines, the rare yellow and purple fringed orchids,
cardinal flowers, the lovely blue fringed gentian, pitcher
plants, sensitive plants, the painted cup and over a hun-
dred others, I cannot give proper names in this paper.
All who are interested can find them in their wild flower
books. While speaking of the wild flowers I must not
forget to mention those that have escaped from gardens.
This to me is a pathetic subject, the poor hard worked
early settlers did not have the choice variety of flowers
to pick from. Some they cultivated were in after years
neglected or cast off. But they would not be extermin-
ated. The Canterbury bells are still seen and the Bounc-
ing Bet, if bounced from the garden refuses to disappear.
This hardy flower remains along the road sides wherever
there is or has been a residence, where they were once
cultivated. I know of only one place in Paramus where
they are grown in the garden.
In this county we have over forty kinds of ferns and
over a hundred of the mosses, well worth studying.
The little piping lizards and frogs that announce the
first mild evening in spring make a welcome sound. The
tree toads and bull frogs have their concerts. Later, the
garden toad does much good and if petted can be easily
tamed. We have a number of snakes, all harmless ex-
cept the rattle snake, which is not common.
Trees of many species make our woods beautiful ; the
chestnut, once so very plentiful has died recently in great
numbers. The hickory thrives, and in Ridgewood town-
ship has the finest nut found in the United States and
is so recorded in Washington, in the Department of
Agriculture.
OF BERGEN COUNTY 55
Insect life is abundant (some of you may think too
much so). Many of them are both beautiful and useful
and butterflies and moths offer great inducements to col-
lectors.
Of the smaller rodents we are fully supplied. I will
call attention to the change taken place in regard to the
skunk and opossum. When I first came to the county,
I could very often smell the skunk on a winter evening,
now he seems to have left and his place is taken by the
opossum. This is also recorded of Long Island. Both
animals are enemies to poultry. The opossum is the
worst and more strictly nocturnal in its habits. Squirrels
are so well known I will not describe the red or gray.
The flying squirrel and chipmunk are worth our study.
Another branch of our natural history is the fungi, or
the mushroom family. This is an immense field of which
so little is known. The barrier against its study is in-
fluenced by prejudice and ignorance. A few well defined
rules are sufficient to warn us against any danger of
poison or any other ill effects from using them as food.
They have varying properties, but is that not also true
of the ordinary vegetable kingdom? I shall only remark
that some of the greatest delicacies of the table are con-
tained in the mushroom family. This county abounds
in an immense number of kinds and one of the rarest
species of the family was collected in Ridgewood town-
ship.
We now come to a more interesting study, the birds.
Of all the works of nature the birds appeal to us as the
most beautiful, in their habits, migrations, plumage,
songs and loving confidence in a way no other forms of
animal life approach to a like degree. This county is
greatly favored with its vast number of species of birds
in summer and the many residents, and northern ones
that visit us in winter. I commence in January, blue jays,
crows, chickadees, tree sparrows, wood peckers, nut
hatches, occasionally a belated robin or flicker may be
seen as well as a winter wren, cow bird, kinglet, white
throated sparrows, and a few others. Our northern visi-
tors are erratic in their movements. Some winters
they will be here in considerable numbers, at other
S4 THE OUTLINES OF THE NATURAL HISTORY
times absent, these include the pine grossbeak, red cross
bill, red poll, white winged cross bill, snow bunting, and
less often the shore lark. All these are birds of the Old
and New World, or what I term circumpolar birds. Not
that these birds are migrant now from the Old World,
but are the only small birds, except the bank swallow,
that are counterparts of Old World species. The bank
swallow, although breeding far to the north migrates
south like our own birds and it also breeds further south
than the winter visitors above mentioned. A few species
migrate from Europe to Greenland and breed there, rare-
ly straying down our Eastern coast to Long Island, and
possibly this county, but not recorded. I do not include
our own game, large and water birds, or the birds of
prey ; a few of these are cosmopolitan.
As the winter wears away one of the first notes to
cheer us is the warbling of the blue bird or the sweet
ditty of the song sparrow. As spring opens the birds ar-
rive from the South with bright hopes of love and home
which so many express in their delicious music. To
enumerate all would take too long, so I must for the
present reluctantly drop the subject.
I have been asked by our president to say something
of the wild or passenger pigeon. I have no doubt most
of you are familiar with the oft repeated accounts of
their marvelous numbers which less than a century ago
darkened the sky like an eclipse. In the middle, or what
were then called, Western states, filling the air with a
noise that resembled distant thunder. They settled down
on the trees for their nightly roosts, often in such weight
that the branches broke down, killing many of them.
Their numbers were often greatly thinned by a crowd
of men with poles and guns. As the lands were cleared
by settlers in these localities their haunts were curtailed.
This destruction told heavily on them even though they
had a wide distribution from 62 north latitude, south to
Kentucky or northern Kansas, eastern base of Rocky
Mountains to Atlantic their range in the Eastern states
was more limited.
The peculiar habits contributed to their destruction,
they very determinedly flocked together even in the
OF BERGEN COUNTY 35
breeding seasons, in some sections, their travels were
erratic, mostly migratory in the north, going from place
to place where food was most abundant, beech nuts, small
acorns, etc. What also contributed to their destruction
was the habit of following flock after flock in the same
direct line, for that day I remember in 1859, seeing
gunners stand still at the same point, after seeing one
flock go over waiting for the next to follow the same
direction. This has always been a mystery to me, as it
did not seem possible that one flock could see the flock
before it after a lapse of many minutes. Such was really
the case and I saw this at Fort Washington Point, New
York, where I believe most of them crossed the Hudson
into Bergen county where our farmers, as had been their
habit for many long years, were waiting for them. Nat-
urally the pigeons were not very shy, so were trapped
easily. When I first came to this county I visited many
outbuildings and saw the crates left on most farms where
the birds were put in after capture which was effected
by clap nets, two nets oblong in shape placed a distance
apart the end stretches on poles so that when the birds
were enticed by food laid between the nets a string was
pulled that drew the nets together, covering the pigeons
when the birds were taken out and put in the pigeon
crates ; the number was so great at times that they could
not be consumed while fresh, so they were plucked and
salted for winter's use. Some idea can be judged of the
number and value of this harvest when it is considered
the making of the nets and accessories was a work of
much time and expense. The last I saw of the passenger
pigeon was on the next farm to mine in the seventies.
Can it be impossible that these birds are entirely extinct?
It seems so. Some members of the American Ornitholo-
gists Union have offered liberally and Professor Hodge
has offered one hundred dollars for the identified nest
of one pair of these birds. Some newspaper reports that
they have been found, but it is not yet officially recog-
nized. Many people mistake the Carolina dove for the
wild pigeon. The last bird recorded was shot in Michi-
gan in 1903. As late as 1872 they were breeding in Ber-
gen county.
PRESENTATION SPEECH
OF JUDGE DOREMUS
at the Garret J. Busch Keiser reception.
Held at Hohokus, November 16th, 1910.
Ladies and Gentlemen : — I think that when it comes
to modesty the Mayor of this borough is par-excellence,
for if there ever was an orator I think he was one to-
night. As I understand the term, what an orator means
is a man who speaks from the heart, and who captures
his audience and impresses them with his sincerity and
I think he did that. If there is any dissenting vote I
would like to hear it.
I feel with my friend the Mayor, that I wish I had
the power to express the feeling that has come over me
since coming here tonight. We are making history here
tonight. This is one of the great events for this borough
and it will be marked as a red letter night. In the past
it was very seldom that people mingled together to do
honor where honor was due, but it is, I am glad to say,
becoming more general now, too often in our public life
it is the man who "knocks" who gets most things. I am
glad to be here tonight and to address this meeting and
never have I felt such an interest as I do tonight in
addressing this audience, but when I heard the Mayor
say my turn had come, I was reminded of a story told by
Joseph Chamberlain, he was at a meeting and they had
a band, and some singing too, when it came time for his
address the chairman leaned over to him and said, "Do
you think we had better let the people enjoy themselves
a little longer or is it time to begin?" (Laughter.)
That is my feeling but having a whole lot of things
to do before I get through and lest I should weary you
with much well doing I must hurry along. There is to-
day a great awakening of Public Spirit and Public
Sentiment, which I have previously indicated and it is
time for us to do as our Greek friends did. You remem-
58 PRESENTATION SPEECH OF JUDGE DOREMUS
ber that when a man did anything great whether he was
a great general or won one of the Olympic races they
were crowned and were given testimonials and the peo-
pel gathered around them. They did not do so much
of that in our country until recently, now we have our
Hall of Fame and you will note that even Edgar Allen
Poe has now been elected to our Hall of Fame, after
great trials and tribulations. We also have our Noble
prize, and the people are awakening to give praise to
those to whom honor is due. And although our friend
whom we have met here tonight has not been a great
public speaker, or, a great general or a great statesman,
he has done that something which is worth a great deal,
it is the silent daily influence exerted by a man of his
character. It makes us all better, we see him, it is an
object lesson to us, he is a builder of homes, and he is
all that goes to make American citizenship and make
America the nation that it is today, and it is that spirit
that is making America a great nation.
There is another thing and I want to digress for a
moment. I am a lawyer and like all lawyers, I do as I
am told to do, and although I am not paid in money to-
night, I am paid in something better, satisfaction. I see
in the audience Mr. Zabriskie, the President of the His-
torical Society and by the way Mr. Keiser is also a mem-
ber of that society, and he is here. We are making
history tonight and Mr. Zabriskie has noted all that has
been done and it will all come out in the year book and
you will find that you will all be lauded for this great
gathering, and he has asked me to say a word or two
about the Society and I am going to say something in
connection with the work of the Society that I know will
be of interest to some. The Society is marking time,
that is they are building local history and they have done
a great deal during this past year and among other
things, they have been making investigations as to local
history and conditions and everything that goes to make
up local affairs. I would like to call attention to one or
two things of this character in regard to this beautiful
place Hohokus, and I suppose you already know some
of these things although some of you doubtless have not
PRESENTATION SPEECH OF JUDGE DOREMES 59
gone back far enough. We are all very much interested,
of course, in knowing what the name Hohokus means
and maybe you have never heard it. It is an Indian
name and means "cleft in the rock" and of course it is
very apparent, when you go over and look at the gorge,
why the name was given. That is going quite a little
ways back, is it not, to the Indian Times.
One of the first industries in this country was the
cotton mill that was established here in Hohokus, by
John Rosencrans, who came here in 1770, we are getting
way back now, but I see one of the Rosencrans family
and he knows everything about this and more than what
I do, and if I say anything that is not so he might get
up here and correct me. John Rosencrans, Jr., became
sole owner of this business in 1858, since then it has
become the Brookdale Bleachery. Then there was the
old white paper mill built in 1837 and burned in 1850,
this property was afterward bought in by the Pegamoid
people, I presume there are many here who will remem-
ber all about the incidents.
There are four old houses in this town, one is known
as the old stone house, and the other as the old stone
house South of the Brook, and in the wall of that old
stone house is a cannon ball which was placed there by
some one during the Revolutionary period and it was
well planted. I suppose some one here tonight will go
down and look at it and see if they cannot pick it out.
(Laughter.) That old house was sold by John A. Hop-
per to Bell in 1853. Then we have the old Mansion
House, which was a famous tavern in Revolutionary
times, (and it is yet) (Laughter). Of course you all
know about the Little Hermitage, known otherwise as
the Rosencrans Mansion, and you have all heard the
story of how Aaron Burr came over here from New
York, tying his horse in the bottom of the boat, and
courted the widow, and how he kept that up until his
diligence was rewarded. I understand that in one of
the various stones in that building are cut some Masonic
Emblems, of course you all know what Masonic Em-
blems are and I will not go further into that. I also
understand that there was a room which had no door.
40 PRESENTATION SPEECH OF JUDGE DOREMUS
All these things are interesting and are the things that
should be looked into by us. The house was rebuilt in
1812 and whether it has the room still or not, I do not
know.
Another interesting thing is the fact that there was
an old church here known as the New Propsect Church
and I was very much impressed that the documents show
it was started in 1797, and I understand it is one of the
oldest Methodist Churches in this country, think of it a
Methodist Church at that time, 1797. The circuit of
the pastor was from Haverstraw, New York, to Belmar,
New Jersey, imagine the ministers of today travelling
over that circuit without an automobile. The first school
was a log hut, but where it was built has been lost trace
of. The next one was built by subscription in 1856 and
from that time until 1870 was supported by tuition fees of
$1.25 a month. These are historical facts, and the peo-
ple of the United States will want to know these things
sometime.
Of course you all remember when the old Holiokus
Station burned how the Erie when they were going to
build the new one wanted to take it away from Hohokus,
and how the people rose up in their righteous indigna-
tion and they said to the Erie Railroad that all powerful
monopoly, "Don't you do it." But do you all know that
the very first station that was built on this portion of the
Erie Railroad, at that time known as the Paterson and
Suffern Railroad, was built here at Hohokus, and the
second station was built at Ridgewood, so you see that
sometime Ridgewood plays second fiddle to Hohokus.
I see that the Mayor looks very significantly, and I
know he is thinking about when Hohokus is going to
annex Ridgewood. (Well they might do worse).
(Laughter.)
Have you ever stopped to think what kind of people
we are, to have made these things possible? Hohokus is
entitled to be proud of the people who have made it.
Sometimes people laugh when you say Hohokus and ask
if you do not mean Hloboken. But I say we have reason
to be proud of what we have achieved. This borough is
made up of people of English and Dutch ancestry, and
PRESENTATION SPEECH OF JUDGE DOREMUS 41
as the Mayor has very properly said what Dutch ancestry
means, it can readily be understood when we see what
has been accomplished. I am very proud to say that
I am of the Dutch ancestry, Mr. Keiser too is of Dutch
ancestors, a citizen of the land which fought back the
water of the ocean and made a home, a land which was
the apostle of liberty throughout all generations, these
are things to be proud of. Coming right down to our
good friend here, when we speak of people, we get right
to the subject of this meeting here tonight. Mr. Keiser,
I understand is eighty-two years old and is still young
and he has been in active service for fifty-three years.
When he came to America he was a poor man, in Hol-
land his ancestors were titled, he is of noble lineage. I
have here what I never saw before and what I never
expected to see, a book giving the complete history of
the Keiser family back to 1587, and right here in the
middle of page seventeen we find something written in
Dutch which has been translated and which I will read
to you, "Garrett J. Busch Keiser, born at Westerwhich,
2nd of May, 1807, he was a manufacturer at Gunders
and he at present lives at Hohokus, New Jersey, and is
at present post-director." I somehow like that term
post-director better than postmaster. He lost his for-
tune over there, like a great many other people he had
a dishonest partner, and the partner got away with all
the money and Mr. Keiser was left with all the experi-
ence. He was offered a post in the Dutch East India
Service, but he thought that as Holland had not done
very much for him decided to come to America. When
he came here he had two hundred dollars, all he had and
he put it into a bank and that bank went wrong and he
lost all he had. That by the way was not a Ridgewood
bank. Then he had to get right down and simply put
his manhood to work and he picked stones for a living,
think of it a titled man like him. Then he carried the
mail from Godwinville to Wortendyke in his coat pocket.
He would get it at the box car station at what is now
Ridgewood, and take half of it to the old general store,
Ridgewood only had then nine houses. Then he ob-
tained the position of acting postmaster at Hohokus un-
42 PRESENTATION SPEECH OF JUDGE DOREMUS
der John Jacob Zabriskie, then Mr. Zabriskie had the
bad fortune to die, a good one for our friend, and left
Mr. Keiser all alone. The salary was hardly worth
while, I will not mention it however. But he kept on
and the two great characteristics of his integrity and
faithfulness, these two cardinal principals he put into
practice and look what he has done for himself, and the
community, the state and the nation.
Now we come down to a curious thing about Mr.
Keiser, he never took a vacation, did you ever hear of
such a thing as that. I am surprised that he has not
broken down under the strain, because we all feel that
we have to take a vacation and we honor the man who
does not need one. He is also the oldest postmaster in
this state in years and in service and I suppose he has
had the experience of a postmaster in New York I heard
of. A young lady from Ireland wanted to send some
money to her people and the clerk said to her that if
she paid ten cents she could get a ten dollar money
order, and she remarked to her friend what a fine gov-
ernment it was you could get ten dollars' worth for ten
cents. When he came over here from Holland Mr.
Keiser could speak four languages and read them well,
Holland, German, French and English, think of a man
with an education starting to pick stones, it seems to me
simply wonderful, and it is one of the things we ought
to consider what Mr. Keiser has been to us in the way
of an example.
I have a testimonial here and I want to show it to
you first before I read it, it is signed by two hundred
and eighty people and took my breath away when I saw
it, for a citizen who is not even a Mayor of the borough
to get a testimonial of this kind, it shows an evidence of
true worth given by true friends who honor themselves
in honoring him as an example. "To Garret J. Busch
Keiser (Mr. Keiser, if you don't mind standing up I
would like to have the people see you). Greeting from
the people of Hohokus, Bergen county. New Jersey.
'Tn retiring from the office of Postmaster of Hohokus,
Bergen county. New Jersey, which you do on this 15th day
of October, 19 10, the people of the borough of Hohokus
PRESENTATION SPEECH OF JUDGE DOREMUS 43
desire hereby to express to you their hearty congratula-
tions upon the splendid record which you have achieved
while occupying that office, and permanently to record
herein their sincere and united thanks for the able and
efficient manner in which you have served them for so
many years.
"After serving as Acting Postmaster at Wortendyke,
New Jersey, from the year 1857 to the year 1864, you
in the latter year came to the Hohokus Post Office as
Acting Postmaster, and continued as such until the year
1876, from which date until the present time you have
occupied the position of Postmaster of Hohokus.
"This is indeed a long period of service to the govern-
ment and to the people, and your duties at all times have
been discharged in a manner most exemplary, and you
have ever been the good and faithful servant.
"May the years that remain to you be many, and may
they bring to you the abundant happiness and the full
freedom from care that you so well have earned." I
also have the pleasure of reading to you a testimonial
which shows the appreciation of the government as well
as the people where you are so well known. "Office of
the Postmaster General, Washington, D. C.
"Mr. Garret J. B. Keiser, Postmaster, Hohokus, Ber-
gen County, New Jersey.
"My Dear Mr. Postmaster: — Information comes to
me that you are planning to retire on the 15th instant
from the position of postmaster of Hohokus after having
served faithfully and efficiently in that capacity for so
many years. Permit me to congratulate you on the excep-
tional record you have made as an officer of the Postal
Service, to thank you for the highly satisfactory manner
in which you have discharged your duties and to wish
you for the remaining years of your life the fuUest de-
gree of happiness." (Clapping of hands. ^
I feel like Santa Claus tonight. Given on behalf of
the people and your friends and neighbors who so highly
esteem you, and it gives me great pleasure to present to
you that cane. I will read the inscription upon it.
"Presented to Garret J. Busch Keiser, Postmaster, by
the people of Hohokus as a token of high esteem and
44 PRESENTATION SPEECH OF JUDGE DOREMUS
efficient service from April, 1857, to October, 1910."
(Applause.)
Ladies and Gentlemen, it is very evident to you all
that our good friend is so overcome with emotion to
think how you have honored him that all he can do is
to look you in the eye and say that he thanks you sincere-
ly from the bottom of his heart.
ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION OF BERGEN
COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
This is to certify that we, the undersigned, persons de-
siring to associate ourselves into a corporation pursuant
to an Act of the Legislature of the State of New Jersey,
entitled ''An Act to incorporate associations not for
pecuniary profit," approved April 21, 1898, do hereby
certify :
First: — That the name or title of the said corporation
is the Bergen County Historical Society.
Second : — That the agent in charge of the principal
office of said corporation, and the person upon whom
process may be served is Burton H. Allbee, at the Office
of the Society. The corporation shall maintain an office
in the State of New Jersey, at Hackensack, in the John-
son Public Library Building, corner of Main and Cam-
den Streets, where its business shall be conducted.
Third : — The purpose for which it is formed is the in-
tellectual cultivation and development of its members;
to make researches into historical facts and collect data
relating thereto ; to collect and preserve genealogical re-
cords, family traditions and other matters relating to
the general work of the Historical Society ; to cultivate
a spirit of patriotism, foster family, state and national
pride.
Fourth : — The number of trustees shall be eighteen and
the names of the trustees elected for the first year, are :
William M. Johnson, Coi. W. D. Snow,
Burton H. Allbee, Henry D. Winton,
Cornelius Christie, Ezra T. Sanford,
Theophilus N. Glover, William A. Linn,
Cornelius Doremus, William O. Labagh,
Abram De Baun, Isaac I. Demarest,
Arthur Van Buskirk, Eugene K. Bird,
Dr. Byron G. Van Home, James A. Romeyn,
David D. Zabriskie, Arthur Johnson.
46
ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION
In Witness Whereof, we have hereunto set our hands
and affixed our seals this fifteenth day of February, nine-
teen hundred and seven.
In presence of
Thomas H. Gumming
as to Abram De Baun,
Byron G. Van Home,
David D. Zabriskie,
Wm. D. Snow,
Gornelius Doremus,
Wm. A. Linn,
Isaac I. Demarest,
Eugene K. Bird.
Isabel A. Siddons
Abram De Baun
Arthur Van Buskirk
Byron G. Van Home
Theophilus N. Glover
David D. Zabriskie
W. D. Snow
Henry D. Winton
Gornelius Doremus
William A. Linn
William O. Labagh
as to Theophilus N. Glover.Isaac I. Demarest
Eugene K. Bird
Duly acknowledged.
(L.S.
(L. S.
(L.S.
(L.S.
(L.S.
(L.S.
(L.S.
(L.S.
(L.S.
(L.S.
(L.S.
(L.S.
CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS.
ARTICLE I.
This Society shall be known as the Bergen County His-
torical Society.
ARTICLE II.
Its object shall be the collection of natural history;
papers incident to the civil, political, military and general
history of Bergen County and adjoining counties in New-
Jersey and Rockland County, N. Y. ; genealogical, bio-
graphical, and topographical information, and the diffu-
sion of a sound historical taste and the encouragement of
a patriotic sentiment.
ARTICLE III.
The Society shall be made up of resident and corre-
sponding members. Resident members shall be persons
residing in Bergen County; corresponding members
those residing elsewhere ; and both classes shall be chosen
by open nomination and election at any regular or special
meeting by the Society or by the Executive Committee
at any meeting thereof. If a ballot be demanded, a ma-
jority of votes cast shall be necessary to a choice. Any
corresponding member may become a resident member
upon filing with the Secretary a written request therefor,
ARTICLE IV.
The Society shall hold the annual meeting in February
on the anniversary of the birth of Washington, at which
a general election of officers by ballot shall be had
wherein a majority of the votes cast shall constitute a
choice ; and immediately thereafter proceed to some suit-
able place and dine together. The place for holding the
annual meeting shall be designated at the preceding meet-
ing. Special meetings may be called at any time by the
President, and at all meetings nine members shall be a
quorum for the transaction of business.
ARTICLE V.
Each resident member shall pay on or before the
48 CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS
twenty-second day of February two dollars each year, or
in satisfaction thereof a life membership fee of twenty
dollars ; and resident members in arrears for dues two
years or more, after notice in writing from the Treasurer,
shall cease to be members.
ARTICLE VI.
The officers of the Society shall be a President, ten
Vice Presidents, Corresponding Secretary, Recording
Secretary, Treasurer. These officers, together with four
members, shall compose the Executive Committee. All
shall be chosen by ballot and hold their offices one year
and until successors be chosen. In case of a vacancy it
may be filled by the Executive Committee.
ARTICLE VII.
The President, or in his absence a Vice President, or
in their absence, a chairman shall preside and have the
casting vote. He shall preserve order, decide all ques-
tions of order, subject to an appeal to the Society, and
appoint all committees unless otherwise ordered.
ARTICLE VIII.
The Recording Secretary shall keep minutes and rec-
ords of the Society, make and furnish certificates of mem-
bership, and have the custody of papers and documents
deposited with the Society, subject to the authority and
oversight of the Executive Committee, and discharge
such other duties as may be required of him by the So-
ciety or the Executive Committee, and shall make a re-
port of the transactions of the Society at the annual
meeting, and the Corresponding Secretary shall conduct
such correspondence as may be entrusted especially to
him by the Society or the Executive Committee.
ARTICLE IX.
The Treasurer shall collect, receive, keep and pay out
such funds as may come to the Society, subject to the
control of the Executive Committee, keep an account of
the receipts and disbursements, rendering a statement
thereof to the annual meeting, and shall give a bond with
approved security for the faithful performance of his
duty.
CONSTITUTION AND BY LAWS 49
ARTICLE X.
The Executive Committee are charged with the duty
of soHciting and receiving donations for the Society, to
recommend plans for promoting its objects, to digest and
prepare business, to authorize the disbursement of the
Society's funds, and generally to superintend and guard
the interests of the Society. At all meetings of the Exe-
cutive Committee five members shall be a quorum. The
Executive Committee shall be convened by notice from
the Recording Secretary.
ARTICLE XL
In case of the dissolution of the Society, its books,
papers and collections of every sort shall belong to and be
delivered to the Johnson Free Public Library of Hacken-
sack for the use and benefit of that association, if not
contrary to the stipulation of the donor.
ARTICLE XIL
At the regular meeting of the Society the following
order of business shall be observed :
1. Reading minutes of previous meeting.
2. Reports and communications from officers.
3. Reports of Executive and other committees.
4. Nomination and election of members.
5. Miscellaneous business.
6. Papers read and addresses delivered.
ARTICLE XIII.
Alterations or amendments may be made by the So-
cietv or by the Executive Committee on a two-thirds vote
of the members present, provided that notice of the pro-
posed alteration or amendment shall have been given at
a previous meeting.
THE COLLECTIONS.
The Society is steadily adding to its collections, both
of articles purchased or given to it, or loaned by inter-
ested persons. The collections now include the follow-
ing articles. The first are owned by the Society :
Book Cabinet.
I Large Gilt Frame Mirror.
Show Cases.
I old French Clock.
Framed Picture N. J. Senate, 1859.
Bound Copies of Bergen County Journal, 1858- 1860.
Copy Framed Painting of Old Bergen Coat of Arms.
Account Book, 1 781 -1805.
Tax List, 1784.
1 Muggier, Liberty Pole Tavern.
Small Old Chest, With Old Deeds and Documents, was
Squire Jacobus Demarest's, of New Bridge.
Old Lock and Key from Home at Teneoch.
Yellow Acher Arrow Head.
Collection Holland Society Dinner Souv.
Lath and Plasters from Old Ackerman Hms., Main St.
8 Brick from Old Kip House, Pollifly.
Old Deeds.
Old Newspapers.
Books : —
Ulster Co, History.
3 Volumes of New Jersey Coast — Gen. Hist.
2 Volumes of Essex and Hudson County Histories.
I Volume of Hackensack R. D. C. Records.
I Volume of Schralenburg R. D. C. Records.
Collections of Society Year Books.
Mr. Allbee's Historical Clippings.
Mrs. Westervelt's 3 Historical Scrap Books.
Large Col. Magazines of American History.
22 Volumes Con. Con.
Four Volumes Council of Appointments.
3 Volumes Papers of George G. Clinton.
52 THE COLLECTIONS
Publications of Other Historical Societies.
I Volume In Camp With Company L.
I Volume The Campaign of Trenton.
I Old Volume Phellip's Travelers Guide of United
States.
I Volume History of New Jersey.
I Volume Accounts of General Washington with the
United States.
I Volume American and English Generals in the Lib-
rary of Congress.
I Framed Copy, The Star, Earl Hask. Paper.
LOANED.
Large Knob Bowl Made By Indians Mrs. M. Kent
Col. Old Newspapers.
C. E. Wilds' Col. Minerals Curio, etc.
National History Col Miss Worate Bogert
Large Pewter Platter Mrs. G. Rose
Four Old Deeds, 1686- 1695 W. M. Johnson
2 Samples of Paper Money W. A. Linn
Autograph Note and Manuscript of Will. Cul. Bryant. . .
W. A. Linn
An Old Letter A. W. Van Winkle
Old Scales Miss Cummings
Old Atlas 8 Miss Cummings
Old Map of Disputed Territory Miss Cummings
Soldiers' Plate, Spanish War, 21 Regiment New York
C. Eugene Walsh
Pierce of Iron Pot, Ft. Ticonderoga Rev. Sanford
Two Silver Candle Sticks and Two Vases, by Peter Wil-
sons Mrs. Archer
Cannon Ball, Ticonderoga
Indian Ceremonial Stone, Frank Hach
Mrs. Henry Mildrew
Indian Work Shop Chips
Spur used Revolutionary War Rev. Sanford
Miller's Boltting Clocte Pocket and Belt Buckle
Rev. Sanford
2 Newspapers Jack Terhune
Piece of Cane and 2 Sample of Minerals E. Eypper
Old Farm Fork and Shovel Mrs. Stagg
Old Brazier
Candle Molds
Fire Place Toaster
Old Almanac Box
Tin Box Carried by Casp Westervelt Through Revolu-
tionary War.
Egyptian Mining and Ancient Coll. of Curios
Rev. Sanford
I Copy Josephus Miss Jennie Zabriskie
54 LOANED
Clyde B. Hay's Collection of Bergen County, Indian
Relics, etc.
Collection of 70 Pieces of Old China and Lustre, Pewter,
Dutch Chairs, Foot Stove, Indian Relics Bergen
County, Laces and Emb, Samples of Bergen Coun-
ty Domestic Linens, Old Lock and Key from the
Bridewell Jail, New York City, Hall Porch Built in
1776 Used As Rev. Prison, Demol. 1838.
Early Copy Tribune F. A. Westervelt
Mr. I. P. Stevenson's Valuable Coll. is in the room, but
not in our custody.
A SKETCH
Of the Reformed Church of Paramus
by
HENRY D. COOK, Pastor.
It is impossible to state just when the Paramus people
started the movement which resulted in the organization
of the Reformed church of Paramus. But there is an
original document in the possession of the consistory of
the church which shows that the project was well
thought out and accepted by the community at Paramus
before the year 1726 A. D. This article is dated Decem-
ber 26, 1730 and signed by P. Fairconier.
Yet the enterprise dragged along without definite ac-
tion till in 1735 when on April 21st the first stone was laid.
The original record reads, "Den 21 Dagh Van April,
1735 is de Eerste Steen van de Kirk Gelegt" ; that is say,
"On the 2 1st day of April, 1735 was the first stone of
the church laid." This record is found on the fly leaf
of the "Old Doop Book." In fancy one may revert to
the simple life of those days, nearly two centuries ago,
and see the culmination of the ardent hopes which the
people had cherished for a long time. The people them-
selves labored on the structure as their time and ability
permitted. If we today are often interested in the erec-
tion of some public building when the task is performed
by strangers and aliens from the lust of money, how
much more so must these devout people have been in-
terested in their labor of love and what conversations by
the hearth must have followed when a father and his
sturdy sons returned home after a day's labor on this
temple of Zion !
This structure stood the test of stirring times. It felt
the hardships of the early colonial wars and even the
rigors and devastations of the Revolution, for both the
British and the American armies camped near it. But
at the end of that struggle the original building which
56 A SKETCH
had been repaired several times was so dilapidated that
it was found expedient to build a new church which was
erected to the south of the old one. In 1800, the erection
of the present edifice began. The building has been re-
paired several times, but the beautiful simplicity of the
ancient style of architecture has been preserved wherever
it was possible.
The first minister to Paramus was Reinhardt Erickzon
who was examined and ordained by the classis of Am-
sterdam on Sept. 3, 1725 for the purpose of accepting
the call "authorized by the consistory of the Reformed
church of New Barbadoes, Schraalenburgh and Peere-
mus situated in New Jersey."
The next minister was the Rev. W. Mancius who was
the pastor during 173 1 and 1732.
During the next sixteen years there was no settled pas-
tor ; but the church was cared for by Antonius Curtenius,
who was pastor first at Hackensack and then at
Schraalenburgh, and by Johannes Van Driessen of Ac-
quackanonk.
The first minister who settled among the congregation
was Van Der Linde, who was called by the churches of
the Ponds and Paramus in 1748. After 40 years' ser-
vice, "in 1789 he was called to a better world. He had
seen the congregation increase and send out two
branches, and a third was about to start, and yet retain
undiminished vigor at home. Though we have not his
records, this fact speaks loudly in his praise. His labors
must have been immense." "His congregation extended
at least twenty miles east and west and fifteen miles north
and south. He must literally have worn out in the mas-
ter's service. His bones were disinterred in the year
1800, and placed beneath the pulpit of our present church
edifice."
After the pastorate of Van Der Linde the following
have been ministers of the Paramus church :
Isaac Blauvelt, 1790-1791.
William P. Knypers, 1793-1796.
Wilhelmus Eltinge, 1799- 1850.
Aaron B. Winfield, 1851-1856.
E. Tanjore Corwin, 1857-1863.
OF THE REFORMED CHURCH 57
Isaac S. DeMund, 1864- 1870.
Goyn Talmage, 1871-1879.
John C. V^an Deventer, 1879- 1886.
William H. Vroome, 1887-1906.
Henry D. Cook, 1907.
The church edifice stands on land which was probably
donated by Peter Fanconier. The farm and cemetery
connected with the church, except a little more than ten
acres, was promised to the church by Peter Fanconier
and deeded to the church in 1750 by Mrs. Valleau, a
descendant of Peter Fanconier. The original deed is in
the possession of the consistory at present.
As this is one of the oldest churches in the state it is
interesting to note some of the customs which take their
origin in the colonial times. The graveyard connected
with the church seems to have been public property in
the early days and any member of the congregation was
permitted to bury in it. It is said that many British sol-
diers were buried in the church grounds during the Re-
volution. In 1850 to i860 it was not a strange thing to
dig a grave in the old grave yard, and learn when the
bottom was reached that the grave already had a tenant.
The present chapel and sheds stand in the old grave yard.
It appears to have been the custom in those early days
to erect the school house for the community on the land
belonging to the church. There are three sites where
schools houses have stood in times past. The first school
was located in front of the house now occupied by the
sexton. The second site is situated between the chapel
and the sheds. The third site is that now occupied by
the young men's club. The present chapel is a building
with a history since it was built for a political hall at
the time of the civil war, and was used for the social and
civic purposes of the community till it was secured by
the consistory and moved to its present site from the
land of the late Cornelius Bogert. It has lately been re-
modeled without seriously altering its original style of
architecture.
The preaching w^as in Dutch from 1725 till about 1814.
After 18 10 the Paramus community under the leadership
of Domine Eltinge agitated the matter of dropping the
58 OF PARAMUS
Dutch language in order to promote the future welfare
of the church. But the upper section of the congrega-
tion, now known as the Saddle River chvirch, strenuously
objected to this. The feeling which resulted ultimately
led to the separation of the two churches in as friendly
a spirit as the times would permit in the year 1813, ac-
cording to the date of the deed of the church property.
Since those dayi. the "Old Paramus Church" has done
good work for the master in its service at Paramus. It
has always been known as a church which is loyal to its
denomination and its past history shows that it has been
a progressive church. It has contributed faithfully to the
master's work in the Reformed church at large and has
generously aided Rutgers college in the days when the
college stood in great need of funds. While the spirit
of true piety which animated our forefathers has always
pervaded the church and at intervals has burst into such
a flame q^ fervor that the ensuing revival has seemed like
a new Pentecost. Truly one may say of this venerable
institution, "Thy youth is renewed like the eagle's."
ROLL OF MEMBERSHIP
HONORARY
Bogert, Isaac D., Westwood
Nelson, Hon. William, Paterson
Sanford, Rev. E. T.,
West nth St., N .Y.
Vroom, Rev. W. A., Paterson
LIFE MEMBERS
Allison, William O., Englewood
Cameron, Alpin J., Ridgewood
Green, Allister,
1 East 61st Street N. Y.
Preston, Veryle, 71 B'way, N. Y.
Zabriskie, Capt. A. C,
52 Beaver St. N. Y.
ANNUAL MEMBERS
Abbott, John C, Fort Lee
Ackerman, David B., Closter
Ackerman, Jacob O.,
Saddle River
Adams, Dr. C. F., Hackensack
Adams, R. A., Hohokus
Allbee, Burton H., Hackensack
Asmus, Grover E.,
4011 Hudson Boulevard W. H.
Bennett, G. L., Hackensack
Bennett, H. N., Hackensack
Bird, E. K., Hackensack
iBogert, A. D., Englewood
Bogert, A. Z., River Edge
Bogert, C. V. R., Bogota
Bogert, Daniel G., Englewood
Bogert, Matthew J., Demarest
Brendon, Charles, Oakland
Brinkerhoff, A. H., Rutherford
Brinkerhoff, C. V., Hackensack
Brohel, J os. A., River Edge
Cane, Fred W., Bogota
Cathcart, Dr. W. R., Hackensack
Wortendyke
Colver, Frederick L., Tenafly
Connolly, Chas. H., Englewood
Cook, Rev. H. D., Ridgewood
Cooper, R. W., New Milford
Criss, Hugo P., Hohokus
Coggshall, H. IngersoU,
Crum, Fred H., River Edge
Crum, Mrs. F. H., River Edge
Dalrymple, C. M., Hackensack
DeBaun, Abram, Hackensack
"DeBaun, Mrs. Abram,
Hackensack
Delamater, P. D., Ridgewood
Demarest, A. S. D., Hackensack
Demarest, I. I., Hackensack
pemarest, J. E., Westwood
Demarest, Jacob R., Englewood
Demarest, Hon. Milton,
Hackensack
Derby, Warren E., Englewood
Diaz, Jose M., Hackensack
Donaldson, George, Cliffside
Doremus, Cornelius, Ridgewood
Easton, E. D., Areola
Eckert, George M., Saddle River
"Edsall, J. G., Palisades Park
Edsall, S. S., Palisades Park
Essler, J. G., Saddle River
Ford, F. R., 24 Broad St., N. Y.
Foster, W. Edward, Hackensack
Fornachon, Maurice, Ridgewood
Glover, T. N.,
Henry & Amity Sts., B'klyn
Goetschius, D. M., Little Ferry
Goetschius, H. B., Little Ferry
Grunow, J. S., Hackensack
Haggerty, M. L., Hackensack
Hales, Henry, Ridgewood
Harding, W. J., Ridgewood
Haring, Tunis A., Hackensack
*Heck, John, Westwood
THester, E. L. D.,
Hasbrouck Heights
Jacobus, M. R., Ridgewood
Jeflfers, Daniel G., Hackensack
Jeffers, Mrs. Daniel G.,
Hackensack
Johnson, Rev. Arthur, D. D.,
Hackensack
Johnson, James L., Hackensack
Johnson, Hon. Wm. M.,
Hackensack
Koehler, Francis C,
North Hackensack
62
ROLL OF MEMBERSHIP
Lamb, C. R.,
23 Sixth Avenue, N. Y.
Lane, Jesse, New Milford
Lane, Mrs. Jesse, New Milford
Lawton, I. P., Ridgewood
Liddle, J. G., 123 Bowery, N. Y.
Lincoln, J. C., Hackensack
Linn, W. A., Hackensack
Mabie, Clarence, Hackensack
Mabon, J. S., Hackensack
Marinus, J. A., Box 44, R. F. D.,
No. 1, Ridgewood
Meyer, Francis E., Closter
Morrison, W. J., Jr.,
Ridgefield Park
Morrow, Dwight W.,
Englewood
Perry, George H., Hackensack
Pearsall, J. W., Ridgewood
Phillips, Miss Helen, Ridgewood
Phillips, Miss Imogene,
Ridgewood
Piatt, Dan Fellows, Englewood
Porter, George M., Allendale
Ramsey, J. R., Hackensack
Richardson, M. T., Ridgewood
Rogers, H. M., Tenafly
Sage, L. H., Hackensack
Schermerhorn, G. F., Rutherford
Sheridan, E. J., Englewood
Sleight, Charles E., Ramsey
Smith, J. Spencer, Tenafly
Snyder, G. J., Ridgewood
Sowter, E. T., Ridgewood
Stagg, Edward, Leonia
Zabriskie, E. L.
St. John, Dr. David,
Hackensack
Tallman, William, Englewood
Terhune, P. Christie,
Hackensack
Terhune, P. Christie,
Hackensack
Tillotson, J. H., Englewood
Townsend, Dr. M. E., Westwood
Van Buskirk, Arthur,
Hackensack
Van Home, Dr. Byron G.,
Englewood
Van Neste, Rev. J., Ridgewood
Van Wagoner, Jacob,
Ridgewood
Van Winkle, A. W.,
Rutherford
Voorhis, Rev. J. C, Bogota
Wakelee, Hon. E. W,,
Demarest
Walden, E. B., Hackensack
Ward, Rev. Henry, Closter
Wells, B. G., Hackensack
Westervelt, Mrs. F. A.,
Hackensack
Wheeler, G. W., Hackensack
Wilson, R. T., Saddle River
Wood, R. J. G., Leonia
Wright, Hon. W. J.,
Hackensack
Young, Dr. F. A.,
Union Ave. & 149th St.,N.Y.
Zabriskie, Hon. David D.,
Ridgewood
, Ridgewood
Papers
and
Proceedings
1910
Bergen County
Historical Society
OFFICERS FOR 1910
President,
Everett L. Zabriskie, Rigewood.
Vice Presidents,
Isaac I. Demarest, Hackensack.
Dr. Byron G. Van Horne, Englewood.
Hon. Cornelius Doremus, Ridgevvood.
Arthur W. Van Winkle, Rutherford.
Matt. J. Bogert, Deniarest.
Albert Z. Bogert, River Edge.
Edward Stagg, Leonia.
Charles Brendon, Oakland.
Robert T. Wilson, Saddle River.
Howard B. Goetschius, Little Ferry.
Secretary, Treasurer and Editor,
Burton H. Allbee, Hackensack.
Executive Committee,
Hon. William M. Johnson, Hackensack.
Hon. David D. Zabriskie, Ridgewood.
Eugene K. Bird, Hackensack.
Abram DeBaun, Hackensack,
Giti
The Socloty
INTRODUCTORY.
President's address at the meeting of the IJergcn
County Historical Society in Ridgewood, April 28.
Gentlemen of the Executive Committee : —
This meeting the first of the year and the beginning
of active work for the society has special significance
as at this meeting all plans and arrangements for the
year's work are formed and given impetus. We will not
try to prophesy concerning the work ahead of us, but
rather when we have completed the year look back and
see where we could improve and then go forward to the
work at hand.
I sincerely hope that each member of the executive
committee will be alert and active and always on the
lookout for that which will be to the interest of the
society and give of their time freely for it is this rather
than financial assistance w^e need.
Members and Friends : — We have met here this ev-
ening at the first regular meeting of the executive com-
mittee of the Bergen County Historical Society. Others
will follow in various parts of the county at later dates.
By this arrangement every member will have an oppor-
tunity to attend at least one of these meetings during the
3ear ; then when we assemble for our annual dinner it
will be a meeting of friends working together in a unit-
ed effort for the Society's welfare.
This Society now has nearly 150 members scattered
over the county, and we hope that any who are interest-
ed and are not members will enroll their names with the
chairman of the membership committee, A. W. Van
■\Vinkle, of- Rutherford. The dues are nominal, but what
we want especially are people who are interested in the
events of the past and their effect upon the present gen-
eration.
The speakers this evening need no introduction as
they are friends and fellow workers in this cause of ed-
ucation and development,
HISTORICAL RESEARCH, ITS PROBLEMS AND
LESSONS.
An address given by Dr. W. T. Whitney, at tlic meet-
ing of the Historical Society, held at Ridgewood, April
28, 1910.
Air. President, Ladies and Gentlemen : — I want to
make an apology first, and this is my apology. I do not
like to speak from a mannscript, to be perfectly frank
with you it bothers me. It confuses me when I have
to follow that manuscript and to keep track of those
words, I like to choose my words as I go along, but I
promised a certain gentleman that I would let him have
my speech to put in the paper here, and I was thinking
coming along here, that unless you stick to that manu-
sciipt what you sa}' tonight will be as different from
what will appear in print as light is from darkness
Therefore I am going to stick to the manuscript and
trust you will bear patiently with me, because it does
bother me to speak from a manuscript.
Historical research, its problems and its lessons. As
I view this subject and think it over, I think of it from
a large, broad view point as a problem and have endeav-
ored to find in history, so far as history is reseached,
the things sought, and this paper does not deal with Ber-
gen County, or with New Jersey, or with the United
States, but with all history. With every problem pre-
sented for solution there are two factors, one the trans-
forming agent which is the mind, and the material to
be acted upon which is history. These two factors are
always present in historical research and the relation be-
tween these two factors is an organic one, they do not
work separately, but the one acts upon the other. The
mind in order to produce historical knowledge takes
the facts of history and arranges them in order. The
l)roblems of historical research are to find the motives
and interpret them. It should not be merely to give an
order of facts and present them in order, the facts of
— 6 —
history are only the guide posts by which history is
determined and supported. The problem of historical
research is the interpretation of phases of life and the
motives of people. This you will see more clearly from
the following illustrations :
The Pilgrims landed in 1620, so far as We can see our
institutions would not have been affected materially six
months earlier or six months later; their landing was
made upon Plymouth Rock ; it would not have made
any difference if they had landed somewhere else ; they
came over in the Mayflower; it would not have made
any difference had they come over in another vessel.
They numbered one hundred and twenty-two souls, sup-
pose there had only been one hundred and twenty. They
signed the "Compact" in the cabin of the Mayflower,
they could just as well have signed it upon a rock; but,
if they had been animated by a different set of political,
social and religious ideas, the whole character of our
country would have been altered.
The Declaration of Independence was signed in Inde-
dependence Hall in 1776 by Jefferson and Adams, it
could just as well have been signed in Carpenter's Hall
at some other date and by two other patriots, the import
ant fact is the spirit that actuated the Contniental Con-
gress.
These are the real facts of history, but they are mere
matters of interest, they have their value, but they do
not contain the life, the other, the spirit, the motive, con-
tains the life, for without this spirit back of it, the event
would never have occurred. The battle of Gettysburg
could have been fought by different generals and
on different fields, but the outcome could never have
been the same unless there had been the same two peoples
and actuated by the same two sets of principles and same
two enemies. One of the most common things of history
is, to deal with it as a matter of record. It deals with
facts and it is very common for us to look at them mere-
ly as records, but history is no more a mere matter of
record than any other subject; practically it has very lit-
tle to do with the recording of events. History is not
concerned with events only, but only as they deal with
-7-
the result. This idea that history is only concerned with
recording- facts is the begiimer's idea, superficial and
harmful, because it leads to the belief that the text
stated or the record read is the real subject, when, as
a matter of fact, it has nothing to do with it. The real
interpretation of history may be briefly stated as fol-
lows:
The forces and emotions can be interpreted and
those forces which lead to action can again be started,
but this can only be done when the student reads be-
tween the dates for himself and when he imaginatively
and sympathetically enters into the spirit of that time
which gives to the institutions which then prevailed
much of the characteristics which they bear. In partic-
lar, historical research is the giving of the lives and
forces applying to their action — the days and events are
merely a sign of the beliefs then felt and the thoughts
and feelings of that epoch he, the student, thinks and
feels, hence it is possible to read the ancient thoughts in
the act, but we must be sure that we interpret the
tlioughts and not merely read the events.
There is a great dift'erence between the form and con-
tent in historical research. It is possible to read the
form and misunderstand the content, this is too true of
the ordinary reader. The content is made up of the
thoughts, the feelings, the emotions of the people. An
event which carries it out happens but once, but the feel-
ing or impulse which found^its expression in that event
endures ; this same feeling, or motive force may record
itself again and again in different epochs or periods of
history. To the student of history this constitutes a
very interesting and instructive matter. He reads the
doings and emotions of people, he finds in human life,
not in recorded facts, the interpretation of that about
which he is concerned and in which lies the vital ele-
ment. He looks upon the form as a secondary fact. To
be a successful and thorough student of history one
must have imagination, he must feel the feelings of the
people of that time, he must learn to appreciate motives
and forces, the human life, and learn what gave the direc-
tion and the impulse to those dates and acts whose re-
— 8 —
cords he reads and studies. This is the problem of
historical research, not to know what happened, but ti»
know why it happened, what aspirations moved the
people, and he who cannot read between the lines of
history is unable to read the lines.
History deals with the life of a people in the process
of growth and development. The content of history is
not a date and facts of something dead, it is alive, dy-
namic and not static. The thought and feeling, the im-
pulse of the people obey two laws, one the law of
Continuity and the other the law of Variance. By the
law of Continuity we mean that there is no great break
in the lives of people ; those guide posts of history that
indicate the progress of different periods might seem
to indicate that progress is not a gradual development
but is accomplished by leaps and bounds more or less
long, and far apart; it may possibly seem even to stop
for a time, apparently, but in reality it is always 'moving
on. Progress must proceed out of the constituted or-
der of things and progress always continues, there is no
break or stop but a gradual growth.
By the law of Differentiation or Variance, we mean
that the thoughts and the feelings of the people take on
new forms of expression, the people in their growth and
development moving onward, then by the law of Con-
tinuity retain the old and also by the law of Variance
take on new forms and this new form retains, there-
fore, some of the old and takes on something new, for
example : The God of Abraham was the God of a chos-
en few, who had no relations with any other peoples,
the God of Israel was the God of a single race, and a lit-
tle later this God became the God of a chosen people.
Then He became the God of the Christian and gradu-
ally we are beginning to think that this same God is
the God of all this universe ; you see the idea is different
and yet somewhat the same. The ideas of our ancestors
show in our thoughts of today and there is some of the
thought of the past, and yet they are changed.
Socialism is not a new idea, we are just trying to
adapt its principles to the twentieth century. Our fore-
fathers believed in religious liberty, provided you
1
— 9 —
thought as they did ; we beHeve in freedom for every
man, if he thinks as I do. History shows that the Hfe of
the people was a simple and undivided whole. A man
did not separate in his thought his political and social
duty ; when he did think of his duty, state and church
being related, there was only a single phase of life, the
church and the school, and these were un-
divided. Ikit, between then and now the prin-
ciple of variance has done is work so per-
fectly that we have entirely separated these two
phases of life. Government and church are two separate
and distinct fields. One part of our thought we give
to government, another to church, another part to sci-
ence and commerce, and another part to education.
Thus thoughts and feeling become permanent and they
become settled as they become the thoughts of the peo-
ple.
In America the final arbiter is public opinion, if you
agree wath it you are crushed and if you disagree with
it you are crushed. In most of the countries of Europe,
the people have had little to do with the establisment of
their rights and liberties ; in America, it is supposed to
come from the people. In Europe they have liberty,
in America we think we have, and in the thinking is the
fulfillment of it. We can divide the facts of history as
expressing thought of the people into five divisions, the
social, the political, the religious, the educational and
the industrial, but these five expressions of human life
and endeavor are not all of ec^ual value and in this
fact consists one of the great values of historical re-
search, to ascertain which of these elements was predom-
inant in different periods and why. This shows us the
aspirations and hopes of the people, how they looked
upon life, what life meant to them. One of the serious
blunders made today is that the people are not familiar
with the past; they have not read the lessons of their
fore fathers; they are not familiar with those ideas that
constituted the problems of the people of that time, nor
with the relation to those problems which have been
tried in the past and found wanting. They make the
same blunders over and over again, and thus waste the
force which might have been spent in other ways in the
solution of those problems. It is an interesting, and
might be ahnost an amusing thing, if it were not so
sad, to watch the mass of people struggling with their
problems. We are moderns in time only, in thought and
conceptions, we are ancients.
History is the experience of a people to strive to reach
a higher plane of living, the dangers encountered, the
problems left unsolved, the hopes and ambitions enter-
tained. Thus he who would know the history of the
past must know the heart history of its people and against
his knowing is the great stumbling block, feeling. Emo-
tion is the rock invincible. You may change ideas ; feel-
ing is not easily changed; it is that fundamental force
in human life and it is that that constitutes in every
event its dynamic element, it is a matter of growth and
development.
The nation of the people will advance only as rapid-
ly as the emotional, or feeling, life of the people changes.
Ideas are things grafted upon the margin of our lives.
We believe many things in words which our actions be-
lie. We believe in a God omniscient and ever present,
but act as though the judgment day were never com-
ing. We believe in the brotherhood of man, but every
stranger we meet we treat with caution. We believe in
a democratic government, and take but little part in it.
It is that elusive element in human life, feeling, which
constitutes the vital element in human history. It is
this that history shows has changed governments and
social institutions. It is this that constitutes the contin-
uity of history and also gives to history its change. It
is for this reason that the life of a people is an organic
whole, like one mighty stream with its several currents
moving on towards one mighty goal. There is not one
destiny for church, another for government, another for
education and industry ; all these constitute one life with
one destiny. Ideas may change, ideas of government
of social aspirations, of human activity, but that which
constitutes the vital and powerful force of life, is that
element, feeling, and this is the element we are to
search for in history.
— II —
Ideas may change the emotional and evolutional forces
only in so far as the ideas are feasible. This it is that
unlocks the treasure house of the past and he who would
properly interpret history is aware that the changing-
life of the people is due to the changing of the thoughts.
He understands that their ideals have changed and that
these changing conceptions are the problems of his-
tory; he who would interpret the history of the future
must read and know the feeling of the present ; he who
would interpret the history of the past must know the
feeling of the past. The history of tomorrow is the as-
piration of today. The hopes and ideas of the past are
the recorded deeds of modern history.
RIDGEWOOD OF YESTERYEAR.
Speech of Honorable Cornelius Doremus, at the meet-
ing of the Historical Society held Thursday evening,
April 28, 1910.
The topic is "Ridgewood of Yesteryear." Now I take
it that Yesteryear means anything back of today, and
assuming that that is the proper definition, I have com-
menced with the history of Ridgewood from the time of
the Indians, and I think that is as far back ^s we ought
to go tonight. I don't think our president properly in-
troduced the Bergen County Historical Society, it is
a great institution and its work is being recognized for
accuracy and zeal and it has become more than state
wide in its influence and a model in pattern for all sim-
ilar institutions.
It is fitting that Ridgewood should be chosen as one
of the spots dedicated to historical research as many of
the stirring scenes of the Revolution and Pre-Revolu-
tionary times occurred within what might be called its
limits. A gentleman in the early part of the evening,
before we came in here, asked me how many members
we had in Ridgewood; I told him and I do not know
what his opinion of me is now, because I do not find
as many here as there are members.
Like Dr. Whitney I have confined this little talk to
a manuscript, so that I would not go rambling all over
die whole field of this big subject. We will take up
first the Indian history, and, although we have not much
in the way of actual knowledge of the Indian inhabit-
ants of this section (you will notice that there are no
flights of eloquence in this story), we find along the
Sprout Brook, just east of Ridgewood, the signs of
three well defined sites of Indian camps; the sites are
very plain, there being cooking utensils and other things
of interest. You may think that Ridgewood is not very
rich in Indian lore, but I have found relics myself along
— 13 —
the banks oi the Passaic and Saddle Rivers near this
vicinity.
We will now take np the people that fonnded Ridge-
wood. In 1682 the first Zaborowski, the founder of the
great family of Zabriskie, purchased from the Indians
what was known as the "New Paramus Patent." consisting
of about two thousand acres. He named it the Param-
us Highland and the earliest settlement upon that first
tract of land was located at what is now known as the
Paramus Church. What is now Wortendyke was or-
iginally known as Newton, and Midland Park and the
section east of what is now Ridgewood was known as
Lydecker's Mills. The name was later changed to
Godwinville, in honor of General Godwin a Revolu-
tionary hero who at one time lived at Paterson. At this
time Godwinville took in a section of four miles, with
the Methodist Church at Midland Park as the centre, in
1866 the name was changed to Ridgewood, but not un-
til after six years of struggle with the officials of the
Erie Railroad, waged incessantly and actively. Airs.
Cornelia Dayton had the honor of naming it. Thus you
see the name Ridgewood is about forty-two years old.
Right here I would like to say that the second jail and
courthouse in the county was built just above here.
This was when the British were occupying Hacken-
sack. A few of the curious things about it were the
crimes for which people were punished in that day ;
one was witchcraft, another was stealing a human be-
ing, and another was children over sixteen years old
who would cross or smite their parents.
The political history of Ridgewood is interesting, it
originally formed part of Franklin Township and Frank-
lin Township was formed about a century ago, and or-
iginally included a very large territory, comprising with-
in its boundaries Ridgewood, Glen Rock, Midland Park
and other municipalities. In 1853 Samuel Dayton pur-
chased part of the Van Emburgh estate (I think the
present Dayton would like to own it now). Samuel Day-
ton plotted considerable of the land and developed it
and sold considerable of it. All the land on the north
side of Ridgewood avenue, between the Hohokus brook
— 14— •
and Monroe street, west of the Erie Railroad, formed a
part of the Van Emburgh estate, the original owner of
which was Henry Van Emburgh, and he owned al-
most all of what is now known as Ridgewood. Ridge-
wood Township was formed in 1876 under authority of
an Act of the Legislature of the State. It then o^mprised
three square miles and the population was twelve hun-
dred, it has now grown to more than five times that num-
ber. The first Township Commitee consisted of Cor-
nelius J. Bogert, N. R. Bunce, Peter G. Hopper, Al-
bert P. Hopper and Thomas Terhune.
Since the formation of the township, Ridgewood has
lost the flourishing municipalities of Midland Park and
Glen Rock. The village was incorporated in 1894 and
since that time there has been a dual government,
namely Village and Township. The Village Trustees
acting as Township Committee. The first trustees of
the village were Milton T. Richardson. H. E. Hopper,
Joseph W. Edwards, Dr. George M. Ockford and Wil-
liam J. Fullerton. To recount the names of the various
Boards of Trustees since would simply be to make a
directory which would be similar to "King's notable New
Yorkers" — everybody knows them. The present board
consists of J. M. Martin, J. J. Lannuier, George Brack-
ett, J. V. Morey and Frederick Bogert.
Early Civilization — The first church was the Par-
amus church, erected in 1735 and it is a curious incident
that this church was started thirty years after the old
church in Hackensack which it appears was dedicated
in 1696. The land on which the Paramus church is
erected was donated by Peter Faulconier, and he was
given in perpetuity two seats, one for himself and one
for his wife. The congregation of Paramus began wor-
shipping in 1725, although they did not meet in the
church until ten years later. You see this church is
about two hundred years old and it is a singular fact
that it is still a flourishing church ; and you can imagine
that if it is of such a power and influence today what
an influence it must have been in that early day, and as
Dr. Whitney said the church and school practically typ-
ify civilization.
- 15 —
In connection with the I'aramus church is V'alleau
Cemetery, which has a curious and interestino- history.
The land was donated by Magdelene Valleau in 1750
and some of the epitaphs on the tomb stones are well
worth the perusal of the historian.
Another curious thing- is that slavery was a recog-
nized institution in this State and an act was passed
by the Legislature in 1713 regulating slaves- and holding
that human life was a mere chattel.
We are descended from the Dutch or French Huguenot
stock, and they were a sturdy and hardy people of rug-
ged constitution and well able to grapple with the pro-
blems of life as they found them in that early day.
Their domestic life I thought would be interesting
and this is the schedule of the day's work. Five a. m.,
feeding stock and preparing for work of the day; six
a. m., breakfast ; seven a. m., at work with axe or plow ;
this was continued for twelve hours and the family,
wives and daughters were equally hard working.
Revolutionary Sketches — A noted incident of the
early times of this section is one that occurred near the
familiar old Rosencrans house that is still standing on
the east Saddle River Road. It is related that at one
time Aaron Burr was encamped at Ramapo and the Brit-
ish were at Hackensack. One Paul Vanderbeck, rode
into camp and said that the British were on the way
to Paramus and were destroying everything along the
route, it seems that they had destroyed some of his cat-
tle and driven them away. Mrs. Vanderbeck had some
bread in the oven which was just about baked, the
soldiers took this hot bread, putting it in their knap-
sacks and she was very much pleased to see that the
hot bread melted some butter they had taken and spoiled
the red coats of the soldiers.
It seems that Burr met the British and captured the
Hessian troops and then fell back to Ramapo. It was
during this raid that he met the famous widow Provost,
who then lived in the Rosencrans house. It is related of
General Burr that during his courtship, he was encamp-
ed in New York and in order to visit the widow he
would tie his horse flat in the bottom of a boat s6 that
— i6 —
the horse could not move, then row across the Hudson
and ride twenty miles through the enemy's country.
Churches. ^ — The Episcopal church was erected in
1865, east of the Hohokus brook. Edward A. Walton
was the first superintendent of the Sunday school and
Rev. J. M. Waite the first rector. In 1873, the church
building was moved across the brook to its present lo-
cation. The Presbyterian church was originally known
as a Seceder. It was then changed to the Christian Re-
formed church under the pastorate of the Rev. Harvey
Iserman affiliated with the Presbyterian denomination.
Another land-mark is the First Reformed Church of
Ridgewood, and this was organized in 1875. The
church when first organized occupied Shuart's Hall.
It then moved to the Ryerson Building, to the present
site, in 1877 and since then the building has been re-
built and enlarged several times. Rev. John A. Van
Neste has been the pastor since the organization of the
church and it has flourished and grown under his pas-
torate of thirty-five years.
The Baptist church was organized in 1885 and has a
large and flourishing congregation. They are about
to build a new church. The Unitarian church is not
very old, but is here to stay. The Catholic church was
organized in 1890 and has done much for the building
up of this progressive community.
The Methodist church was organized in 1895 ^"<^^ ^^^^
met in the old Union street school house. The pres-
ent structure was built in 1903. Besides these there
are the first Church of Christ Scientist, they own their
own property and will probably shortly erect a building
of their own. The German "Lutheran church, the Af-
rican A. M. Zion, which is about eighteen years old,
and a new one has been started called the Colored Bap-
tist church. Thus you see we have twelve flourishing
churches and this is one other link to bind Ridgewood
and Brooklyn together.
The first school building erected in this vicinity was
a short distance south of the house of Garret I. Hopper,
in 1770. It was built of stone and destroyed by wind
— 17 —
in 1824. In the same year aiiotlier was built on the land
of Paul Xanderbeok and used until 1864.
A sehool was established at Paranms church in 1770 and
1 building- for its accommodation erected in 1785. A
new buildino- was erected to take the place of the old
3ne in 1810; another was built in 1820 and another in
1845. The school house on Union street was erected in
April, 1872, and was known as Ridgewood School district
No. 61. A school-house was also erected in Ridgewood
Grove in 1864 and known as School district No. 44. It
was the old brick school house so familiar to the early
residents of Ridgewood. It is now turned into a dwell-
ing house. The present High School building on the
corner of P)eech street and Franklin avenue was erected
in 1893 ^"fl there are few in the state can equal it.
Other schools built in Ridgewood a few years ago are
Kenilworth Place, Monroe street, and Harrison avenue.
So you see the early settlers believed in education.
Early Settlers — The land upon which Ridgewood
is built was originally owned by five families, all of Hol-
land descent ; namely, Van Emburg, who owned most
of it. Hopper, Westervelt, Zabriskie, and Van Dien.
The oldest house for many years was one erected by
George Van Dien, on Maple avenue. It was a stone
house and stood until about fifteen years ago, when it
was demolished. The homestead house now occupied
by John B. Van Dien on East Ridgewood avenue, he
told me, was occupied by his ancestors one hundred and
forty years ago.
The first land laid out in the town and mapped was
owned by Cornelius Shuart. It is true that Samuel
Dayton was the first to plot the land, but Shuart laid
his out in lots and filed a map. Where the Opera House
now stands there was a large pond.
The first hotel was built by John W. Halstead, now
known as the Ridgewood House, and owmed by Mine
Host Zellweger.
Our friend from Englewood will be interested in
the following : We had a noted physician and surgeon
who came from this part of the county. He was born
in 1797 and graduated from the College of Physicians
-i8 —
and Surgeons in New York in 1819. He was well
known as a physician and surgeon.
Roads. — The earliest road through RiJgewood was
the Godwinville road ; next was the Paramus road.
The Godwinville road ran from Pompton to Hoboken.
Then there were the trunk lines such as the Paterson
road now known as Maple avenue.
Railroads. — I think the people who hear me sa})
railroads may think this is misleading, but besides the
Erie, we have running through this section, the New
York, Susquehanna and Western. The chief interest
centers in the original railroad which was the Paterson
and Hudson. The Erie was built in 1850. The Pater-
son and Hudson ran from Paterson to Suffern. The
Erie proper ran from Suffern west. The first station
building was erected in Hohokus, and the second one
in Godwinville, in 1859. ^ ^^^^ known writer had this
to say of Ridgewood : "The approach to Ridgewood is
not particularly attractive, but let him take a station
upon the heights in Ridgewood Park and he will then
appreciate the beauty of the place." One of the first
conductors of the Erie has just died and one of the
others is still in active service. Conductor Cooper.
The first rails were constructed of narrow iron strips
fastened on a wood base, and it wouM be hard to recog-
nize from a picture of that day the present Erie Rail-
road.
Industrial Enterprises. — The first mill in the vicin-
ity of Ridgewood was a grist mill standing where the
Pegamoid mill now stands at Hohokus. It was used for
fifty years and burned in 1853. The same year a cotton
mill was built on the same site and used for sixteen
years. In 1853, the firni of G. Morrow & Sons built
the mill in Midland Park. Hopper was the first store-
keeper and Van Dien was the next.
A Post Office was established in 1865 through the
efforts of E. F. Walton and W. B. Richardson. The
first postmaster received a salary of ten dollars a year.
The present postmaster has occupied the office since
November, 1897.
— 19 —
The oldest lodge is the Masonic lodge ; we also have
the Odd Fellows, the Junior Order of United American
Mechanics and several others.
The Ridgewood Golf Club is one of the oldest or-
ganizations in Ridgewood. We have also the Y. M. C.
A. and the White Star Athletic Association.
The Ridgewood Building and Loan Association was
established in 1883. We have a Board of Trade and
other organizations of a kindred nature. The first Na-
ational Bank was opened in 1899 and the Trust Com-
pany in 1906.
We have had various newspapers which have had a pre-
carious existence. I think Mr. Richardson could give
us the early struggles of some of these papers. We
have tw^o now that are on an excellent footing, The
Ridgewood News and the Ridgewood Herald.
We have no record of Ridgewood land having been
sold by the Indians for a barrel ot rum or a string of
beads, but we have a record of one of the early trans-
actions where property was sold for ten dollars an acre.
The First Reformed church bought one acre of land at
the time it moved to Dayton street for five hundred
dollars. This was a little less than Peter Ackerman paid
for six acres of the Kidder property.
Land values did not increase with any rapidity, how-
ever, until within the last seven or eight years. Twenty
years ago the property upon which are now erected the
Trust Company and the Quackenbush and Stevens
building, the whole plot bounded by Ridgewood avenue,
Prospect street, Dayton street and Oak street sold for
thirty-five hundred dollars. Today without any build-
ings it would be worth fifty thousand or more. Ordin-
ary plots that ten years ago sold for from three hundrec'
to four hundred dollars are now worth two thousand
dollars. In the period of 1875 there were two or
three houses built in a year. From 1885 to 1895 the
number increased to between eight and ten and from
1895 to 1905 the number increased to between ten and
twenty. Now it is impossible to keep count of them, as
they go up in such large numbers.
One of the great features of Ridgewood's develop-
ment has been the Bergen County Historical Society,
which has been extremely active in delving into the past
and has brought to light much of value. It has helped
to make better citizens and instilled the love of country
and home as effectively as any other institvition I can
think of. In 1895 ^^^ exhibition was given under the
auspices of this society in the Opera House. There
were coins, ancient documents, weapons, clothing, im-
plements of industry, family trifles and records, and
an inspection or the articles displayed was a liberal ed-
ucation in the history of the past. People throughout
this section responded with enthusiasm and they were
astounded to know that there was here so much of in-
terest relating to our past history and it brought out
familv ties and connections such as could never have
been done in any other manner. It brought about a
spirit such as that which animated Dr. Bethune who
stood upon one of the streets of Boston when a proces-
sion passed by. It was remarked by a bystander, "Fine
men from New Hampshire, where are you from?" The
doctor said, "from a city to which everybody goes and
from which no one returns."
I expected to have some people here tonight who would
be interested to know what they presented at that ex-
hibit was remembered. There was one picture I remem-
ber, a little picture of Peter Burk ; he was the only one
we have a record of who reproved William IV for pro-
fanity.
Now. in closing, I want to quote from the words of
Macauley : "A people that takes no pride in the noble
achievements of their remote ancestors will do nothing
to be remembered bv its remote descendants"
PARAMUS CEMETERY.
This old and historic cemetery is situated directly in
(he rear of the old Paramns church renowned for its asso-
ciations of the past two centuries and located in the festal
place of the foot hills of the Ramapos. The cemetery is
well kept and presents a neat and tidy appearance. The
I ecords of this plot will be given serially in these pamph-
lets.
Inscriptions in the Old Cemetery at the Paramus
Reformed Church, Paramus, N. J., delineated by E. L.
Zabriskie :
In
Memory of '
JAMES BANNER,
WHO DIED
April 6th, 1852.
Aged 75 yrs., 9 mo., 3 days.
Betsy wife of
JAMES BANNER,
WHO DIED
April 14, 1852.
Aged 62 yrs., i mo., 13 days.
PETER J. TERHUNE,
died Jan. ii, 1855.
Aged 83 yrs., ii mo., i day.
He closed his life at years four score,
He joins in worship here no more.
But if he reigns with Christ above.
His work is wonder, praise and love.
— 22 —
HELENA ZABRISK'IE,
WIFE OF Peter I. Terhune.
DIED, March 13, 1852.
Aged 78 yrs., i mo., 22 days.
Oh happy dead in thee that sleeps ;
The, o'er this mouldering dust we weep,
Oh, faithful Saviour who shall come
That dust to ransome from the tomb.
THOMAS COOPER,
WHO DIED
Oct. 2 1 ST A. D., 1849.
Aged 81 yrs., 21 days.
Laid in the dust he must abide,
Thus sleeping by his consort's side
HANNAH,
WIFE OF Thomas Cooper.
DIED Sept. 16 a. d._, 1849..
Aged 69 yrs., 5 mo., 20 days.
My Lord hath called and I obeyed
To meet and with him dwell.
MARGARET ANN,
Infant child of Jacob L H. and
Sarah J Zabriskie,
who died
June 2nd, 1847,
Aged 7 mo., 23 days.
'^^
YEAR BOOK
Bergen County
Hi^orical
Society ^
Numbers
Eight and Nine
1913-1914
Published by the Society
Hackensack, New Jersey
PARAMUS CHURCH
BUILT I735—REM0T>ELED 1872
I
YEAR BOOK
OF THE
BERGEN COUNTY
HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Numbers Eight and Nine
1913-1914
PUBLISHED BY THE SOCIETY
HACKENSACK, NEW JERSEY
GUARDIAN PRINT
PATERSON. NEW JERSEY
Officers For 1913-1914
"President, ROBERT T. WILSON
'Oice-'Presidents
ARTHUR VAN BUSKIRK ABRAM DE BAUN
MILTON DEMAREST CORNELIUS DOREMUS
M. T. RICHARDSON WILLIAM M. JOHNSON
WILLIAM A. LINN BYRON G. VAN HORNE
Secretary and Treasurer
BURTON H. ALLBEE
Executive Committee
EVERETT L. ZABRISKIE HOWARD B. GOETSCHIUS
MATT. J. BOGERT ALBERT Z. BOGERT
Archives and Property Committee
MRS. F. A. WESTERVELT BURTON H. ALLBEE
WILLIAM M. JOHNSON MRS. P. C. TERHUNE
Official 'Photographer
CHARLES CAFFERTY
BERGEN COUNTY
THE WJSHINGTON INSTITUTE
By William M. Johnson.
On the lot at the corner of Main and Warren streets, Hackensack,
there is standing an old fashioned two story brick building known
as the Washington Institute. A marble tablet in the front wall of the
building, the gift of Col. James C. Zabriskie, contains the words "Wash-
ington Institute, Erected 1779, Rebuilt 1877."
The history of this lot carries us back to the early days of Hack-
ensack, which at that time was a small but enterprising village, whose
inhabitants were largely of Dutch extraction. The lot in question was
formerly part of the farm of Isaac Van Giesen, who was a man of
substance and a prominent citizen. Whether it was sold to the school
district, which subsequently held it, or whether it was a gift for school
purposes, is now quite unknown. There is no record of any deed for
the property, nor is such a deed extant so far as is now shown. The
suggestion that the property would revert to Van Giesen's heirs in
case it should be abandoned for school purposes, is without justi-
fication in the absence of a deed with a clause of reverter. The pos-
session of the Washington Institute and of its predecessors has been
of such character and of so long duration that in law it has ripened
into a perfect and indefensible title, with no reversionary rights at-
tached thereto.
As we shall see later on, a stone building was erected on this lot,
for the purpose of an academy, about the year 1768. The inscrip-
tion on the old bell which wias placed in the belfry of the present
building, but afterwards removed to the Union street school, reads
as follows:
"The gift of Wm. Bayard, Esq.,
To the Academy at Hackensack,
New Jersey,
1770."
Col. William Bayard was a man of great wealth, owning a great
part of what is now the City of Hoboken. He became a tory in the
Revolutionary War and his lands were confiscated. He died in Eng-
land in 1804.
It is well known that at an early date in its history and prior
to the Revolutionary War, Hackensack was an educational center of
considerable importance. The first meeting of the Trustees of Queens
(now Rutgers) College was held at the Court House in May, 1767,
at which time it was proposed to establish the college in Hackensack,
but after a long and animated discussion. New Brunswick was chosen
by a close vote. At that time there were two academies here, one
described as being in Hackensack at the New Bridge, as well as one at
fflSTORICAL SOCIETY 5
Hackensack proper, where the languages were taught and youths
prepared for college. There seems to have been considerable rivalry
between these two institutions as indicated by advertisements in the
New York papers of those days.
The one at New Bridge was under the care of Rev. Stephanus
Voorhees, a graduate of Princeton, class of 1765, who advertised in
the New York Gazette his intention to open a grammar school on
April 20, 1766, at Hackensack under the inspection and direction of
Rev. Mr. Goetschius. In his advertisement he states that all gentle-
men who are disposed to have their sons instructed in the learned
languages, may depend upon a constant attendance and strict and
accurate instruction by their humble servant Stephanus Voorhees,
A. M. "The terms of admission will be as moderate as in any Latin
School perhaps to be found, viz: 20 shillings entrance and 20 shillings
per quarter. It is supposed that board and tuition will not exceed
20 pounds per annum" (about $50).
Again in 1767 Mr. Voorhees advertises that a grammar school has
been kept at Hackensack this year past in which the learned languages
are taught with care and accuracy and youth qualified to enter any of
the Amerian Colleges.
In the same year there appears an announcement in the New
York Journal or General Advertiser of a public school to be erected
at Hackensack on May 1st, where the languages will be taught with
accuracy and care and youths qualified for admission into any of our
American Colleges. The trustees state that for the management of
the school they have chosen Mr. Peter Wilson, who has for some time
past taught in the Exchange in New York, to instruct the children
in Latin, etc., and until such time as some persons will undertake to
teach reading, writing, cyphering and merchants accounts, Mr. Wilson
will officiate for hoth. It may be here noted that Mr. Wilson was at
that time a young man, not yet 21 years of age.
Thereupon Stephanus Voorhees on April 30, 1767, acquaints the
public through the press, that he has supplied himself with an able
assistant, that the school will be kept where it was first erected in
Hackensack at the New Bridge, that an English teacher is also
provided to oblige the public, who is a complete penman and will
teach the Latin scholars writing and arithmetic, two hours a day for
a small addition per quarter.
In January, 1768, Stephanus Voorhees and Francis Barber, the latter
also a Princeton graduate, published an elaborate notice of their
school. They state that a number of persons in New York have
sons under tuition. A third person is to teach English, writing and
arithmetic, and also instructs the Latin scholars in those branches
of education. This Francis Barber afterwards taught in the Academy
of Elizabethtown, when he entered the army and fought in the Re-
volutionary War with great distinction, attaining the rank of colonel.
On February 22, 1769, Peter Wilson informs the public that the
Grammar School near the town of Hackensack is still continued and
that a large commodious and elegant edifice is erected. He fur-
ther states that Peter Zabriskie, Esq., and other residents have vol-
untarily engaged to assist the teachers in the preservation of the
morals of the youth and in checking the first symptoms of vice.
6 BERGEN COUNTY
Apparently the rivalry of the two schools had become very keen,
and some unkind things had been said, which moved Mr. Peter Wil-
son "the public's humble servant" to add "notwithstanding the malev-
volent insinuations that have been industriously propagated with re-
gard to the method of instruction practiced by the subscriber, sev-
eral gentlemen both of abilities and figure have expressed their
highest approbation both of the method of tuition and progress of the
young under his care. * * * But as he has not the talent of push-
ing himself into fame, he must leave the proof of his assiduity and
diligence to the best test — experience."
The subjects also taught w^ere navigation, the Italian method of
bookkeeping, surveying and other branches of mathematics at rea-
sonable rates.
In 1771, Mr. Wilson again advertises his school where the lan-
guages, bookkeeping and mathematics are taught with care and fi-
delity. In the same year the public's most obedient and very humble
servant, John Wright, states that Mr. Barber has declined his school,
and that he, the subscriber, being unanimously chosen to succeed him
in the care of the youth, boys will be fitted for college in the most
accurate and expeditious manner,. He also advertises that scholars
may be boarded for £14 per annum (about $35) which is from £4
to £6 cheaper than in any of the neighboring schools.
We thus see that at that period there were two classical schools
at Hackensack, each having several teachers where youths from New
York and elsewhere were prepared for college. Communication "with
New York might be had 'by stage, for on SeptemTaer 17, 1768, Andrew
Van Euskirk gives notice that a stage wagon will be erected in
Hackensack at the New Bridge to set out for Powless Hook (Jersey
City) to go twice a week, Tuesdays and Saturdays, 6 oc. from New
Bridge and seven from the town of Hackensack, returning the same
da,y at precisely 2 oc. from Powless Hook. Price for each passage
2 s. 6 d.
From the foregoing advertisements it is quite possible to fix "with
accuracy the date of construction of the first school house on the
lot in question. In 1767 announcement is made that such a building
is proposed and in February, 1769, the e'rection of a large commodious
and elegant edifice is advertised. It must therefore have been built
at least as early as 1768, which is two years earlier than the date
inscribed on the tablet.
It was a stone building 35x75 feet, two stories high, with belfry
in the center, and remained standing for nearly 80 years, till in 1848
it made way for the present building. It is knowb that this school
achieved a fine reputation and attracted many youths from a distance
to be educated here. What happened during the trying days of the
Revolutionary War is unknown. In 1780 the British plundered Hack-
ensack, burned the court house and several dwellings and doubtless
the sessions of the school were much interrupted, neverthless the
academy was maintained and continued an important educational
influence.
During Mr. Wilson's term of service in the Legislature, the acad-
emy at Hackensack had become so prosperous that the incorporation
of the institution into a college was deemed desirable. It was pro-
HISTORICAL SOCIETY 7
posed that Dr. Dirck Roraeyu, afterwards president of Union College,
Schenectady, should become the president and Mr. Wilson the pro-
fessor of languages. Mr. Wilson from motives of delicacy while a
member of the Legislature could not be induced to support the meas-
ure. It is quite likely also that while the enthusiasm of the friends
of the academy led them to wish to see a college here, the cooler
judgment of Mr. Wilson and others caused them to see the difficulty
of sustaining an institution of that character, in a state already sup-
plied with two colleges, viz.: The College of New Jersey at Prince-
ton, the Queen College at New Brunswick with King (afterwards
Columibia) College nearby in the city of New York.
The school afterwards became known as the Washington Academy
of Hackensack. Peter Wilson, who seems to have been the first
principal, was a native of Scotland, where he was born November 23,
1746, He v/as not only a successful teacher, but was a man of affairs
an ardent patriot during the war for independence, and a member of
the Legislature for several terms. He compiled a volume of laws of
New Jersey under appointment of the Legislature, which was pub-
lished in 1784. He afterwards taught at Flatbush, L. I., and later
became a professor of Latin and Greek in Columbia College, which
conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of Laws. He passed the
later years of his life in Hackensack where he died August 1, 1825,
aged 79 years. He is buried in the cemetery surrounding the Old
Church on the Green. His residence was in the stone house next
to the academy now owned by Mr. Gilbert. There may be seen
carved in the stones over the "window the words "Peter Wilson,"
"Cath Wilson," "Anno, 1787." His first wife was a daughter of Isaac
Van Gieson and his second wife Catharine Duryea.
At a meeting of the inha:bitants of the Township of New Barbadces,
held at the Academy, August 4, 1798, five trustees, viz.: Rev. Solomon
Froeleigh, John Van Buren. Isaac Vanderbeck, Jr., Robert Campbell
and Nehemiah Wade, were chosen, who thereupon filed a i-ertificate of
incorporation under the name of the "The Trustees of the Washing-
ton Academy of Hackensack, in the County of Bergen." Mr. Froe-
leigh was pastor of the Church on the Green from 178fi to 1823, and
was the leader of the secession which afterwards resulted in the
organization of the True Reformed Dutch Church. Robert Campbell
and Nehemiah Wade were prominent lawyers of the county, the lat-
ter being County Clerk from 1789 to 1801.
Other principals of the Acamedy succeeding Dr. Wilson were
Henry Traphagen, Jobn Traphagen. Bayard Bayard, Thomas Geagan,
Christian Zabriskie, John Hayman. Henry Blackburn, William Hunt
(physician), John Bogert, Henry Howell and John Vanderboek.
About the middle of the last century the Academy building had
become unsuitable for school purposes, and the requirements of the
school district in which it was located made a new building advis-
able. The district was then knowin as School District, No. 1, and
the building was called the Washington Academy.
At the public meeting held June 7, 1847, for the election of school
trustees, the advantage and propriety of erecting a new Academy on
the site of the old one, were discussed, and it was agreed that th'j
meeting adjourn to meet on June 22, 1847, for further consideration
8 BERGEN COUNTY
of the project and consideration of plans. Prominent in this move-
ment were A. O. Zabriskie, Esqi., an able lawyer and at that time sur-
rogate afterwards chancellor of New Jersey, Dr. Abraham Hopper,
a leading physician, father of the late Henry A. Hopper, M. D., the
Rev. Alex H. Warner, pastor of the "Old Church on the Green," and
David Terhune, then a young m.an, whose active interest in this build-
ing continued till his death in 1892.
At the adjourned meeting the whole subject was fully discussed,
and it was decided to erect a building for the double purpose of a
school house, and also a meeting room, for public lectures, etc., and
that a stock company be formed with shares of the value of five dol-
lars each. A committee was appointed to solicit subscriptions to
stock, composed of William DeWolf, David Terhune, Tunis Banta,
Christian De Baun, Henry B. Zabriskie, and Doctor Ab-aham Hopper,
also a committee to prepare a plan of the building, viz: Doctor Abra-
ham Hopper, John Huyler and Abraham O. Zabriskie. The meetmg
adjourned to July 6, when a meeting of the inhabitants of Hack-
ensack and vicinity was held. Reports were made of the shares
subscribed, and a plan of the new building was submitted. At thi:3
meeting the following resolution was adopted:
"Resolved, That in the proposed project of taking down the old
Washington Academy, and erecting a new building on the site there^
of by a joint stock association; it is expressly declared and under-
stood and has been so declared and understood from the beginning
of the enterprise that the lower or ground flooT of said proposed
building, is to be for the gratuitous, the perpetual, and the uncon-
trolled uses of the trustees of the common school district in which
said building is located, provided that the district trustees shall
be obligated to keep the said room in complete repair by such means
and ways as they may judge most expedient."
A committee to draft a constitution for the joint stock association
was appointed, consisting of Dr. Abraham Hopper, A. O. Zabriskie and
Christian De Baun, and the meeting adjourned to July 13 for the pur-
pose of organization, at v/hich meeting articles of association were
read and after debate adopted. A committee was also appointed to
secure a suitable place for the school during the interval between
the tearing down of the old Academy and rebuilding the same; and
also to sell the stone of the old building, reserving as much as might
be necessary for use in the new structure.
The following are the articles of association of the Washington
Institute in the village of Hackensack, in the county of Bergen:
Whereas, The inhabitants of the first school district of the Town-
ship of New Barbadoes at a public meeting held in the Washington
Academy on the seventh day of June, A. D., 1.S47, unanimously re-
solved that the trustees of said district be authorized and instructed
to devise some plan of raising sufficient funds to rebuild said
Academy, and
Whereas, At an adjourned public meeting of the inhabitants of said
district the inhabitants of the village of Hackensack generally and
of the adjacent country, on the twenty-second day of said month of
June, it was on motion of said trustees unanimously resolved that the
HISTORICAL SOCIETY 9
citizens of Hackensack and its neighborhood be invited to form a
joint stock company for the purpose of rebuilding the aforesaid Acad-
emy; therefore to effect such purpose.
Be it knowto that we, the said inhabitants, do adopt the following
as the articles and constitution of our associacion, which shall be
designated and known as the "Washington Institute of Hackensack.'
ARTICLE I.
We, the subscribers, inhabitants of Hackensack and its vicinity
do hereby agree to form ourselves into an association for the pro-
motion of learning and especially for the purpose of erecting and
maintaining on the lot in said village, known as the Washington
Academy lot, a building to be devoted to the purpose of a liberal
common school education and of meetings for intellectual, moral and
religious instruction.
ARTICLE II.
We do agree and consent to carry into effect the objects of our
association to create a capital stock of two thousand dollars to be
divided into shares of five dollars each, which stock may at any
time be increased in the number of its shares, either by the trustees
or by the stockholders, at their annual or other meetings, each share
to be transferable in such manner as the trustees may from time to
time direct, and to be personal estate; no person to be a member of
this association unless he shall subscribe to these articles with the
number of shares which he intends to hold nor to be entitled to vote
at any election after the first election for trustees unless he shall
have actually paid in money or its equivalent the sum of five dollars,
the amount of one share; or shall hold a share by regular transfer,
each member to have as provided by law one vote for each share
subscribed and paid for by him; and the admiscion of future mem-
bers to be on such term.s as the bylaws of this association may
provide.
ARTICLE III.
The lower room or story of the building to be erected by this asso-
iciation shall be devoted to the purpose of common school education
and for that object shall be at the entire and free disposal of the
Trustees or such other officers as may be provided by law of the com-
mon school district wherein the same is, or may be situate, free from
any rent or charge, except that said Trustees or officers shall be
bound to keep the said lower room in repair and to contribute from
time to time one-half part of the expense of all necessary repairs
to the v^hole building and its appurtenances not including the upper
room and in case of their failure so to do, rent sufficient for such pur-
poses may be charged not to exceed thirty dollars in any one year.
ARTICLE IV.
The upper room of the building is to be finished as a lecture room,
and to be kept as a public lecture room, subject at all times to the
control of the Trustees of this association and not to be let or hired
to any society, individual, or association except for a single lecture
or meeting or a proper course of lectures or meetings within the ob-
jects of this article, but the use of the same shall be at all times
10 BERGEN COUNTY
granted and afforded by the trustees in their discretion to proper per-
sons and societies on proper application for lectures and meetings for
intellectual, moral, social and religious instruction, especially of the
young, and for improvement and refinement in taste and fine arts;
subject only to such charges as may be necessary to keep the same
and the building in repair or to improve the same.
ARTICLE V.
This association to be incorporated under the act entitled "An act
to incorporate Societies for the promotion of learning" approved April
16th, A. D., 1846, for which purpose five trustees shall be elected at
some meeting to be called for that purpose according to law, which
trustees shall have full power to conduct the affairs of this associa-
tion according to the true intent of these articles; and to make and
enact bylaws, rules and regulations not contrary thereto; provided
that the stockholders at any annual or other regularly convened meet-
ing may revoke, alter or modify such rules, bylaws and regulations,
and no bjlaws revoked, altered or modified by the stockholders shall
be re-euaoted, or changed back when altered or modified without the
consent of the stockholders; each stockholder having one vote for
each share held by him at all meetings of the stockholders.
ARTICLE VI.
It shall also be the duty of the trustees to keep the said upper room
and the passage leading thereto in complete order and repair. For
defraying the expense of which they shall collect a small rent or com-
pensation for the use of the same, provided, however, that it shall
not be lawful for said trustees to impose any rents for the purpose
of making the same a source of profit to the stockholders.
ARTICLE VII.
The trustees may in their discretion become incorporated by a
s.pecial act of the Legislature embodying the provisions of these ar-
ticles and thereupon surrender this incorporation and the property
of this association become vested in the body incorporated by such
special act.
ARTICLE VIII.
These articles not to be changed or altered except by the consent
of a majority of the stockholders, both in number and in the number
of shares held by them, such consent either to be given at a general
meeting regularly called or by writing under their hands, or in fact
in either way.
And we do hereby, each one for himself, agree to pay to said asso-
ciation, or to their trustees w(hen elected and incorporated, five dol-
lars for each share so subscribed for, at such times, and in such man-
ner as said association or trustees may direct or prescribe.
Adopted and dated at the Washington Academy in Hackensack on
the thirteenth day of July, in the year of our Lord eighteen hundred
and forty seven.
HISTORICAL SOCIETY 11
A. O. Zabriskie 'Ten
Abm. Hopper Twenty
Christian De Baum Three
James P. Demarest Fourteen
William Winant I^our
John H. Banta Three
Jacob Larmour Three
John J. Stephens One
Harding Vanderpool Two
A. C. Fatin Two
James Gould One
Jacob Vanderbilt One
H. H. & T. Banta Pix
Edwd. Alcock One
John Brower One
Abraham Vansciven One
George Doremus Two
Richd. A. Doremus Two
H. A. Hopper Two
Christian W. Campbell One
Lewis Irish One
David Terhune Seven
E. B. Force Two
R. Romaine Two
Stephen T. Vanderbeck . One
John McChesney One
Warren F. Randolph One
John J. Bogert One
Peter Bogart, Jr Two
Michael M. Wygant One
R. R. Hawkey One
Henry Westervelt . . One
Ralph I. Westervelt Two
Daniel M. Winant = . - Three
Manning M. Knapp One
H. B. Zabriskie One
R. R. Paulison Two
John E. Post One
Peter J. Bogert One
John V. H. Van Saun One
Richard Paulison Two
John D. Romeyn One
Lawrence A. Ackerman One
George In. Zabriskie One
Robert Conklin One
12 BERGEN COUNTY
Nickles Vreeland . One
John Larmour One
Albt. G. Doremus Five
Christopher X. Thornhill One
Robert Camphell One
James Vanderpool Two
John Hill One
P. V. B. Demarest Three
Edwin F. Randolph One
John Van Saun, Jr One
John Huyler Four
William De Wolf Five
Daniel Romaine Three
Albert R. Terhune One
Richard Van Winkle Two
Peter S. Demarest Two
Wm. M. Pell Ten
Paul R. Faulison Twio
John H. Ackerman Two
Edward Van Buren One
Richard T. Amos One
John R. Paulison One
John I. Zabriskie .Three
John L. Earle Eleven
Jacob C. Terhune One
John N. Ackerman One
William Terhune One
Abm. Westervelt Three
Garret G. Ackerson One
John B. Cleveland Two
Maria D. Quick Two
Robt. Rennie Fifty-five
William Grieg One
Alexander H. Warner One
George Maycock One
Jonathan Thurston One
George B. Brawn One
David A. Bogert Two
Wilhelmus Berry One
John J. Ward Two
John R. Van Giesen Two
John J. Voorhis Two
Archibald Shearn • • One
John H. T. Banta Four
W. S. Banta Four
David A. Zabriskie One
HISTORICAL SOCIETY 13
Stock suljscriptions to the amount of 283 shares were obtaino-i
and the stockholders proceeded to organize.
The first hoard of trustees elected July 27, 1847, was composed
of Abraham O. Zabriskie. John H. Banta, Dr. Abraham Hopper, David
Terhune and Tunis Banta. They organized by choosing Tunis Ban-
ta president, iDr. Abraham' Hopper, secretary and David Terhune,
treasurer.
A certificate of organization was duly filed in the County Clerk's
office thereby forming a corporation by the name of "The Washing-
ton Institute."
The trustees promptly entered into contract for the erection of
the new building with J? cob Larmour for the carpenter work and
John McChesney for the mason work. The building was enclosed
in October, 1847, and completed during the succeeding winter. The
funds 'being insufficient to pay for the building, the sum of $600 was
borrowed on (bond and mortgage from Jacob Garrison. The total
■cost was about $2,700 of which about $1,500 was received for stock
issued, $600 mortgage, $448 from proceeds of a fair and the balance
from sale of old material and sundry other sources.
It will ibe seen that even in that early day in Hackensack's his-
tory, a successful way of raising money was by means of a fair. The
fair held in the Institute in August, 1848, netted the handsome amount
of i$448.
In 1848 the legislature of New Jersey passed the following act:
"An act to vest in the Washington Institute of Hackensack the
title of the Washington Academy Lot."
"Be it enacted l>y the Senate and General Assembly of the State
of New Jersey, That the title of that lot in the village of Hackensack
known as the Washington Academy Lot, which was formerly vested
in the Trustees of the Washington Academy of Hackensack, in the
County of Bergen, be, and the same is hereby vested in "the Wash-
ington Institute of Hackensack" to be held by them for the purposes
and trusts and subject to the conditions of the articles of the associa-
tion."
Approved, March 2, 1848.
By virtue of this enactment the title became fully vested in The
Washington Institute.
After completion of the building the lower part was used as a
pufblLc school, while the room in the second story was used for lec-
tures, religious services and other meetings the usual charge being
for use of room $1.00, fuel 25 cents, light 25 cents; total, $1.50 per
night.
Entries in the treasurer's books show how extensively this room
was used during the early years of its history.
Many entertainments and lectures were given bere, such as sing-
ing school, Indian concert, band concert, glee club concert, bell ring-
ers, lectures on ventriloquism, on electricity, on astronomy. Courses of
14
EERGEN COUNTY
lectures were given 'by many prominent lecturers. Meetings were
held toy the Temperance Society, Baseball club, Medical Society, De-
bating Society and Legion of Honor.
Religious 'services by the True Reformed Dutch, the Baptist, Uni-
versalists, German church, Episcopal church, the latter from 1862 to
1867, Union prayer meeting, Christian Science church, meetings by the
Library Assaciation, Debating Club, Lyceum, political meetings by
the Whigs; in 1856 by Fremont and Dayton Republican Cluib, Fillmore
and Donelson Club, Buchanan and Breckenridge Democratic Cluib, In
1880 iby the Garfield and Arthur Club, and in 1885 by the Blaine and
Logan Club.
Thus the value of the lecture room was demonstrated, but lectures
have grown out of fashion. Other halls have been built to accommo-
date the increased population and the usefulness of the room has
largely ceased.
In iDecemher. 1870, the articles of association were modified by
the consent of the majority of the stockholders, both in number and
number of shares held by them, so as to permit the trustees to make
such use of the lecture room in the second story as they might deem
erpedient.
In pursance of that authority they leased' the same to "The
Hackensack Library and Reading? Room'' for the period of five years.
"The Library and Reading Room'' was succeeded by a committee of
young ladies who maintained a library in that room until the erection
of the Johnson Free Public Library, at which time their library was
closed and the hooks turned over to the public library.
The following is a full list of the Trustees of the Washington In-
stitute :
1847 — Abram O. Zaibriskie.
John H. Banta.
Abraham Hopper.
David Terhune.
Tunis Banta.
1849— Christian DeBaun.
John H. T. Banta.
1851— Peter V. B. Demarest.
1852 — John N. Ackerman.
1853 — James P. Demarest.
1857 — ^^Henry A. Hopper.
1864— Peter V. B. Demarest.
1887— William S. Banta.
1887— John Banta.
1887— William -M. Johnson.
1892— George W. Wheeler.
1901— George W. Conklin.
Rev. John C. Voorhis,
1910 — Arthur Van Buskirk.
1913— ^Charles W. Terhune.
The present Board of Trustees consists of:
■George W. Wheeler, president, John Banta.
William M. Johnson, treasurer. Charles W. Terhune.
Arthur Van Buskirk, secretary.
David Terhune was a Trustee and also treasurer of the association
from its origin in 1847 till his death, which occurred in 1892, a period
of 45 years, it is needless to say to those who remember Mr. Terhune
as a public spirited citizen and one of our ablest business men, that
he gave to the institute most faithful and attentive service. For the
HISTORICAL SOCIETY 15
greater part of that long period he had charge of the building, man-
aged its finances and attended to repairs and maintenance. During
the period of 67 years since the organization of the Institute it has
had but two treasurers, Mr. Terliune serving for 45 years, and W.
M, Johnson, the present treasurer, succeeding him in 1893.
With the recent death of the late Peter Bogart, Jr., of Bogota, and
Richard Van Winkle, of Lodi, the last of the original subscribers to
the stock of the Washington Institute passed away. Most of the others
died many years ago. The present living stockholders, who hold
their shares by transfer, are only ten in number, most of them hold-
ing a single share each. The largest single stockholder is the John-
son Free Puhliic Library, which holds 84 shares. Of these shares 55
were transferred by the old Hackensack Library and Reading Room,
an organization which is 1870 established a library in the lecture room
of the Washington Institute, 'but which is now practically defunct.
Twenty-nine shares were donated by the estate of David Terhune,
deceased.
The management of the Institute has heen preserved by the few
surviving stockholders, hut it will not be many years before death
will remove them also. Fortunately, it was found 'possible to acquire
the 55 shares from the Lihrary and Reading Room Association for
the Johnson Public Library, and as the Library has perpetual suc-
cession, it will 'be practicable to keep the organization alive hy virtue
of the ownership of the stoick held hy the Library. Some of the liv-
ing stockholders and representatives of estates of deceased stock-
holders have agreed to donate their shares to the Library. The estate
of iDavid Terhune has already done so. It is expressly stipulated in
the articles of association that stockholders shall receive no pecuniary
■benefit from this property, which must be held for educational and
literary purposes, anc even in case of sale of the property, the pro-
ceeds must ibe held in trust for the same uses. Hence these shares
have no commercial value, and it will be advantageous if as many as
possible of the shares should be turned over to the Library by the
representatives of former stockholders.
One of the heirs of Dr. Peter Wilson has claimed that the Doctor
gave this property to the town for educational purposes, with a clause
of reverter to his heirs, in case it should cease to he used lor such
purposes, and that they art now entitled to its possession. It may
he 'Confidently asserted that there is no 'basis for this claim. There
is no evidence that Peter Wilson ever owned this property. It un-
doubtedly came out of the Van Giesen farm. At the time the original
academy was fbuilt in 1768, Peter Wilson was a young man not 22
years of age, who had emigrated from Scotland a few years -before.
It is highly improbable that a youth even as highly gifted as Dr. Wil-
son proved to he should accumulate enough money at that age, from
teaching school, to (be ahle to give away a desirable lot on Main street.
In 1787 when he was 41 years of age he bought the adjoining lot from
Isaac Van Giesen and then erected the stone house which is still
standing.
Questions are frequently asked as to the ownership of the Wash-
ington Institute 'building and of the lot on which it stands, and also ss
to the rights of the Board of Education in the property. From the fore-
going historical sketch, the present status of the property may be
indicated:
16 BERGEN COUNTY
1. The legal title and the right to manage the property, are vested
in the Trustees of the Washington Institute, who are elected by the
stockholders of the Institute.
2. The lower room of the building is subject to the entire and
free disposal of the Board of Education of Hackensack to be used
for the purpose of common school education. The Board of Education
is bound to keep the lower room in repair, and to contribute from
time to time one half part of the expense of all necessary repairs to
the whole ibuilding and its appurtenances, not including the upper
room.
3. The upper room is subject to the sole control of the Trustees
of the Washington Institute, who must keep the same in repair and
contribute one half of the expense of necessary repairs to the whole
building not including the lower floor.
4. The lower floor has not been ocoupied as a school since the
comipletion of the Union Street building in 1878. Since that date it
has been rented by the Trustees of the Washington Institute, and
the income after deducting expenses of the whole building (not in-
cluding the second floor) has been paid over from time to time to
the Trustees of the school district now the Board of Education. To
this extent therefore the lower floor has been used for the purposes
of common school education.
5. The Board of Education is at liberty again to make actual
use of the lower floor.
6. By the consent of the Trustees of the Washington Institute,
which no doubt would be readily given, the Board of Education may
erect a new building on the lot for an industrial school, or other
educational purposes, in which case the rights of the Washington
Institute in the second floor would have to be adjusted in some way
by mutual agreement.
7. The primary purpose of the second floor, viz: for meeting
for intellectual, moral and religious instruction, having become im-
practicable, it has ibeen proposed that the Johnson Free Pu<blic
Library shall be the beneficiary of whatever net income may be de-
rived from it. The library may be deemed in a certain sense th'j
successor to carry out the original 'purposes of the institute. At
least if it is not strictly speaking the successor, yet by reason of
its public character and purposes, it comes nearer to the original
scheme than any other institution in town.
It is evident, however, that the building has outlived its useful-
ness, and before many years will require more extensive repairs
than can be provided for out of the income of either floor. What
should be done with the property is a problem deserving serious
consideration. It can hardly be considered a desirable location for
a school of any kind, and its utility for literary purposes ceased
long ago. If a sale of the property could be effected so as to pass
a good title, of which there is some doubt, an equitable proportion
of the proceeds might be turned over to the Board of Education
and the residue used by the trustees of the institute for such pur-
poses as might approximate the objects of the original incorporation.
WILLIAM M. JOiHNSON.
Hackensack, May 25, 1914.
R. A. AT>AMS HOUSE
SADDLE RIVER
Built by the father of David Hopper, about 1720, was
left to his son. David, who married Caroline Bluuvelt.
After their lifetime the property came into the hands
of their daughter, Maria Jemima Hopper, who married
Garret A. N. Ackerman, and sold the old homestead,
building for themselves the property now occupied by
Maloney.
HISTORICAL SOCIETY 17
BERGEN COUNTY DESCENDANTS
IN NOVA SCOTIJ
By Dr. Byron G. Van Home.
Some years ago while way down East in Nova Scotia I met a
number of people whose ancestors had come from Bergen and Rock-
land counties and when I heard the names of Van Buskirk, Blanvelt,
Van Horn, Herring, Ferdon and visited some of the old farm houses
•with their low spreading gaJbles and Dutch doors it required no great
flight of fancy to imagine ones self hack in Old Bergen County.
How came these people to be there? It is a very interesting part
of history iclosely connected with our Revolutionary War; in fact,
is a part of it. Probably most of us in our study of American
history at school were taught very little about the Tory or oppo-
sition party in the War of Independence. While most of us knew
that there was such a party, and that they made themselves olbnox-
lous to their fellow countrymen, yet it never occurred to us that
they were prominent or influential. They were willing that the
colonies should remain subject to Great Britain, without any guar-
antee of chartered or otherwise established rights and usages. They
constituted the opposition to the Whigs, or Patriots during the un-
armed struggle of 1765-1775, in the controversy with the mother
country. After the war began they gave aid and comfort to the enemy
hy enlistments (to the numher perhaps of 25,000 from the first to
last). There were many more, who for various causes were nou-
combatants, but no less virulent in their denunciation of the "rebels"
on that account. After the Declaration of Independence their posi-
tions hecame more critical, as by that Instrument they were mado
disloyal to the new government and to their respective states,
all of which assumed sovereignty and could not he indifferent to these
internal enemies. With the sanction of Congress, penalties of confisca-
tion, imprisonment, baniphment and minor restrictions were Imposed
by the several legislatures. But, as a rule, after the voluntary expatria-
tion of the more violent and obnoxious of them, the patriots were "con-
tent with keeping a close watch on their movements, to prevent as far
as possible their heing of service to the public enemy. In some states,
during the war, the Whigs predominated. In others, Tories were in the
majority. States there were, too, in which opinions were fairly well
divided. When war was declared, the administrative affairs fell
naturally into the hands of the Whigs, and were maintained by
them throughout. The following extract from a speech, delivered by
Anson Burlingame in the House of Representatives in 1856, gives
an idea of the condition of affairs as they existed at that time. This
same Mr. Burlingame was the one, who in later years, was sent by
President Lincoln on a diplomatic mission to China, where he
gained such an ascendancy over the native mind that he was mado
Chinese amhassador to the world's greatest powers and negotiate!
treaties for her with them.
18 BERGEN COUNTY
"Did not the South, equally with the North, bare her forehead
to the god of battles?" I answer plainly, no sir, she did not;
she did not.
"Sir, Massachusetts furnished more men in the Revolution than
the whole South put together, and more by ten fold than South
Carolina. I am not including of course the militia— the conjectured
militia furnished by that state. There is no proof that they were
ever engaged in any battle. I mean the regulars; and I say that
Massachusetts furnished more than ten times as many men as South
Carolina. I say on the authority of a standard historian, once a
member of this House, (Mr. Sabine, in his history of the Loyalists),
that more New England men now lie buried in the soil of 'South
Carolina, than there were of South Carolinians who left their state
to fight the battles of the country.
"I say when General Lincoln was defending Charleston he was
comipelled to give up his defense because the people of that city would
not fight. When General Green, that Rhode Island blacksmith, took
command of the Southern army, South Carolina had not a federal
soldier in the field, and the people of that state would not furnish
supplies to his army; while the British army in the state were
furnished with supplies almost exclusively from the people of
South Carolina. While the American army could not be recruited,
the ranks of the British army were rapidly filled from that state.
"The British post of Ninety-six was garrisoned almost exclusively
from South Carolina. Randon's reserve corps was made up almost
entirely by South Carolinians. Of the 800 prisoners who were
taken at the battle of King's Mountain— of which we have heard
so much— 700 of them were Southern Tories. The Maryland men
gained the laurels of the Cowpens, Kentuckians, Virginians and
North Carolinians gained the "battle of King's Mountain. Few Soatii
Carolinians fought in the battles of Eutaw, Guilford, etc. They were
chiefly fought 'by men out of South Carolina; and tliey would have
won greater fame and brighter laurels if they had not been opposed
chiefly by the citizens of the soil. Well might the British 'com-
mander boast that he had reduced South Carolina into allegiance.
But sir, I will not proceed further with this history, out of regard
(for the fame of our common country; out of regard for the patriots
—the Sumters, the Marions, the Rutledges, the Pinkney's, the
Haynes — truer patriots, if possible, than those of any other state.
Out of regard for these men I will not quote from a letter of the
patriot. Governor Matthews to General Greene, in which he com-
plains of selfishness and utter imbecility of a great portion of the
people of South Carolina.
The New York Assembly was tainted with Toryism. In 1775 they
declined to appoint delegates to Congress. They were appointed by
a convention and the assembly was replaced by a provincial Con-
gress May 22, which was succeeded by the State Legislature 3 years
later. Governor P'ranklin of New Jersey, son of Benjamin Franklin,
was a pronounced Tory, as was also Cortlandt Skinner, attorney-gen-
eral of the state. These tv/o wielded no little power and made strenu-
ous efforts to keep New Jersey loyal.
The people of Bergen County at this time were devoted almost
entirely to agriculture. Hackensack, the only village in its bound-
HISTORICAL SOCIETY 19
aries, had a population of only a few hundred, but we find that early
In these stirring times patriotic meetings were held in the county.
A regiment of between tliree and four hundred men was raised in
Bergen County under command of Colonel Tunis Dey. The Tory
party was more or less quiescent until the arrival of Lord Howe at
Staten Island with 25,000 British troops on July 7, 1776. To him many
of these now came and boldly announced their allegiance to the King
and were enrolled in his service. General Skinner was authorized to
raise a brigade of five battalions of 500 men each. In the beginning
of the year 1777 there were 517 men enrolled. November, 1777, 859;
May, 177S, 1,101, and during the year, 550 more. These were mostly
from New Jersey, and many of them were afterwards sent to South
Carolina, where they rendered valiant service. Many of them were
killed; many wounded. In Colonel Dey's regiment we find the name
of Abraham Van Buslcirk as surgeon. The same party seems to have
been commissioned Colonel of one of the five battalions of New Jer-
sey loyalists. He and one or more of his sons were in a number of
engagements during the war. It was one of them that led the raid
In Closter when an aged citizen w^as killed and considerable property
stolen. The headquarters for the loyalists was Staten Island.
It was some descendants of these same Van Buskirks that I had
the pleasure of meeting while in Nova Scotia. One of them, a cashier
in one of the banks at Yanuouth, showed me a muster roll of the meu
raised in Bergen County unaei' the command of Abraham Van Bus-
kirk, the name and residence of each man being given. There were
a number from English Neighborhood, Hackensack and Paramus — a
total number of names of about 300. It appears that Abraham. Vai
Buskirk was a physician in Hackensack; that he owned a large farm
in Paramus. I was shown a letter written to him by his wife in Which
she stated that part of Washington's army had been encamped on
their farm; some of their property was destroyed and some live stock
taken, but that on application to General "Washington (of whom she
speaks in the highest terms), a corporal and guard of soldiers had
been stationed on the place fo' their protection, from which time they
had not been molested. Later on she was advised to join her hus-
band in New "i'ork, which she did, stopping at Hackensack over night
at the parsonage of the Church on the Green. Abraham Van Buskirk
had a son who was Captain of one of the companies in the regiment.
The elder Van Buskirk was a member in good standing of the Masonic
Lodge. His certificate of membership was shown me which was given
under the seal of the Grand Lodge of Ireland. That he was a con-
noisseur of good wine was evinced by the old cork-screw which had
come down as a heir-loom. His worthy descendant informed me that
he had no reason to doubt but that it had drawn the cork from many
a bottle of good wine.
I met a Captain Blauvelt, captain of one of the steamers plying on
the Bay of Fundy. His ancestor owned a farm near Orange, Rock-
land County. He espoused the British, his sons the American cause.
So that while the old gentleman lost the farm it was retained by other
members of the family. When the war was over he went to Nova
Scotia with his second wife, of whom this Captain Blauvelt was a
descendant. After the capture of Lord Comwallis it Vv'as almost cer-
tain that America had won her independence and most of the active
Loyalists began to look for new homes. From that time to the final
evacuation of New York, 1783, no less than 100,000 were expatriated.
20 BERGEN COUNTY
As their property had been confiscated by the various states the Eng-
glish government gave them in the aggregate £15,000,000. The great
majority of the people went to Nova Scotia. Many of them went to
Fort Frontenac, Ontario, now Kingston. On many a tombstone may
be read the sad history of these exiles. Our Bergen County Van Bus-
kirk went to Shelbourne, on the southwest coast of Nova Scotia, a
place that in the course of a lew months developed from almost noth-
ing to a city of 15.000. He was its first mayor. On account of the
country back of Shelbourne being rocky and unproductive the city's
population in a few years dwindled to only 1,000. Most of these people
migrated to the A\-est coast where one may find their descendants to-
day. Western Nova Scotia is not a paradise by any means. The
country is rocky and mountainous. Part of the occupation of every
generation who have occupied the land has been to gather stone off it
which have been used for making stone walls. Many of the Van Bus-
kirk descendants have married into the best families in Boston. In
conclusion It may be interesting to state that there were in the War
of the Revolution 130,711 regular troops and 164,080 militia and volun-
teers, making a total of 309,781. Of the regular troops New Jersey
raised 10,726, at a cost of $5,000,000. The number of militia is not
known.
BYRON G. VAN HORNE.
HISTORICAL SOCIETY 21
OUR COUNTY T>ISGRACE
By Burton H. Allbee.
Bergen county has so many good things to commend it that one
almost hesitates to mention one neglect which is so flagrant that it
cannot be overlooked. Whoever goes about the county at all must
see it and persons having no interest in the county have expressed
themselves as not understanding why this one glaring fault has
not l)een remedied.
Reference is here made to the old cemeteries. Who has not seen
them, and having seen them, who has not wondered why they have
not been properly cared for, if not by the public, at least by the
descendants of those who are buried within the enclosures? Some
states have laws which force the municipalities in which old ceme-
teries are located to care for them. New Jersey has a great many
statutes of far less real utility than that. Why not one of the same
character here?
Officials of municipalities when asked why they do not care for
these yards reply that it is costly and they have none too much
money to spend any way. It is to be feared, however, that they
sometimes spend vastly more money for things of less actual value,
or upon political favorites, without thinking anything about it. A.
little ancestor worship in New Jersey would do no harm. Apparently
those who are now here not only want to forget their ancestors,
but they have no objection if the- cemeteries in which they are 'buried
go to ruin and grow up to become tangles of weeds and briers.
If it were only one here and there the neglect would not 'be so
noticeable. But with a few exceptions the same observation applies
to the whole county. All alike are neglectful of the dead, or, that
portion of the dead who lie in the small yards and whose resting
place is marked only by humble tombstones.
Near Kingsland Manor were buried the early Kingslands. The
cemetery was small, merely for the family; ibut it was picturesquely
located and the members of this prominent family slept peacefully
near the home which they made famous.
A great railroad needed a site for its shops. The great trees
which shaded the graves of the departed were ruthlessly slaughtered;
the knoll where the bodies were buried was leveled, and the bones,
as the laborers came to them, were tossed in a pile. A portion were
afterward thrown into one hole. One skull is now used as a curio,
and others were crushed and thrown into the general debris heaped
up in excavating. Descendants of the family were living not far
away when this colossal vandalism was committed; but not only did
the descendants neglect to care for the remains, they never protested
against that method of throwing the bones away. This was a par-
22 BERGEN COUNTY
ticularly flagrant instance, yet, though it may be exaggerated, it is
typical of all the neglect which for one cause or another has hecome
the rule rather than the exception.
On the East bank of the Hackensack river, not far from River
Eidge, is the Ijutheran cemetery. It was situated close to the bank
at the beginning, and the river, which makes a sharp bend just
there has gradually eaten away the bank until a considerable propor-
tion of the original cemetery has fallen into the stream. Stories have
been told of caskets floating down the river at high water. Whether
that is true or not cannot be said, but it is true that bodies have
been exposed 'by the washing away of the bank and even now it is
possible to pick up bits of bone scattered all the way from the
level upon which the cemetery is situated, to the river below. A
Lutheran clergyman who heard a description of conditions was
to try to interest the Lutheran church in doing a little needed work
there, but so far as known he has done nothing of the kind so far.
The broken stones in this cemetery carry the names of some of the
most prominent of the early families of the county. Vet during the
years that these grewsome occurrences have been in progress not
a descendant has raised a hand to stay the slow eating away of the
cemetery 'by the river, or to have the bodies safely removed from
harm's way.
Years ago some of the early settlers buried their dead on what
is now Hudson street, in Hackensack. That street was once the main
road from Hackensack to what is now Hoboken, where a ferry con-
veyed the passengers across to New York. For years the cem.etery
was kept in good repair, but in recent times vandals prosecuted their
nefarious work unmolested. First, workmen went through it to
their work because it afforded a shorter cut. The fence gradually
disappeared until not a vestige of it remains. Next nearby house-
holders broke off the stones, or pulled them from their settings, to
use for step stones, or for flagging their walks.
An agitation was begun concerning this cemetery and most of the
bodies have been removed; but others are still left and the protec-
tion afforded the graves is very meager indeed.
The catalogue of such neglected cemeteries would be too long
to print here. They are everywhere about the county; and for that
matter in neighborhoring counties as well. The cemetery around the
building formerly occupied by the First Reformed church at Passaic
is in the same condition; and as a correction of the trouble there
the suggestion has been made that the bodies be removed and the
cemetery transformed into a public park. A precedent has been es-
tablished at Paterson where bodies have been removed from two
cemeteries and the grounds have become units in the park system.
Not all the cemeteries in Bergen county could be made into parks.
Indeed, it would be better if none of them were, excepting possibly
the one in Hackensack; but it would be well if some one would care
for the little grave yards scattered about here and there.
Much family history has been lost through the destruction of the
stones. Often the only records of births and deaths to be found are
those engraved upon the tombstones. And when these stones are
destroyed it is frequently impossible to obtain the information they
bore. How serious this loss may be it is quite impossible to esti-
HISTORICAL SOCIETY 23
mate. Upon so small a thing as a tombstone record m.ay depend tho
legality of the inheritance of estates. And with the tombstones de-
stroyed how can this source of information be replaced?
It is not necessary that these pathetic little yards be planted with
trees and flowers, though one might wish they could be. But they
should be fenced so as to protect them from roving animals, and it
ought to be made a misdemeanor, at least, to carry away one of the
tombstones. This would lead to the arrest of any person found with
one in his possession, and would probably prevent further carrying
away and the use of them for step stones or flagging. If not the law
icould easily be made more stringent. Protection is what is wanted,
and apparently unless the state takes it up protection will be the
one thing unobtainable.
Some may raise the question whether or not the care of such
cemeteries is a public duty. And maybe ground for argument ex-
ists. It should be the duty of the descendants of those who are
buried in these yards to see that the graves are saved from the
viclence of those who have no sentiment, or even respect for the
dead. But in instances where the rlescendanfs too, are scattered, who
is to do the work if the public does not attend to it? And why
should not the public do it? The public erects and maintains ex-
pensive monuments commemorating the deeds of those who have
been valiant in war or who displayed extraordinary ability in
other directions. Are they more worthy of public respect than those
who performed their daily tasks, humbly, it may be, yet none the less
faithfully? Shall not their memory be honored to the extent, at
least, that their graves are kept free from desecration? The humble
man who performed his allotted task as faithfully and as conscien-
tiously as we know most of these did is entitled to have his grave
respected, even though the public sees no particular gain in spending
money upon it.
Is it an altogether pleasant reflection that after the lapse of time
the graves of those now here shall be neglected and mayhap the
last resting place of those now on earth become a playground? As-
suredly it is not. Nor can one escape the inevitable conclusion of
this reasoning by declaring as carelessly as one may that when one
is in his grave he won't care. All the more reason why some one
else should care. Beyond all human ability to do for one's self as
for others, one may be as insensible as the clod, yet the contempla-
tion of the possibility is not attractive. Such reflections as this
should cause those who may be indifferent or thoughtless to con-
sider what is to be done.
Copies of the inscriptions are being made in all the cemeteries
of the county, and these copies are placed on file in uniform binding
so they can be consulted, but even though the inscriptions have
been made through the generosity and hard work of one or more
people the descendants are not absolved. Responsibility still rests
with them, and they should endeavor, so far as possible, to care
for these yards. Next to that an aroused public sentiment is most
needed. But public sentiment is hard to rouse upon a subject which
seems to be so remote as this. Only by constantly presenting the
facts to that portion of the public directly interested will it bt
possible to accomplish anything. Members of historical societies
can help, and perhaps to them one should look for the bulk of the
24 BERGEN COUNTY
agitation required to bring about action. Possibly similar condi-
tions exist elsewhere in the state and members of societies in other
localities feel much the same way. If so, united action might result
in securing a law which would make the care of these cemeteries
mandatory upon the communities in which they are located. At any
rate, the matter deserves more consideration by those who should
be, and presumably are, interested, than it has yet received.
It is something which will never remedy itself. Indeed, the en-
croachments of business and other activities each year make it
clearer that unless something decisive is done all cemeteries in
which sleep the foundrs of the eomnionwealth will be obliterated
eventually, even as some of them have been already. Is land so
scarce in New Jersey that this destruction is necessary? Has it
come to this that we cannot permit the dead to lie in peace where
loving hands once laid them? Shall the sanctity of the hallowed
God's Acre, wihere rest those whose work is done be thus ruthlessly
disturbed? Perhaps thoughtlessness in matters affecting the liv-
ing may be condoned, but surely the dead should be left unmolested.
Here, then, is a subject which deserves the attention of those
who respect the dead. If anything is to be done to save some of
the little yards, action must be quick. Many are gone entirely. In
some the stones have fallen and have become misplaced so they
could never be put at the right graves. But others are still In-
tact, excepting that they are overgrown with brush, and weeds and
briers, while broken fences permit the cattle to make pasture of
the graves. If this is not desecration it would he difficult to con-
cleve of a more graphic illustration of the word. It is for members
of this society and others organised for the same purposes to ex-
ert all the influence they possess in an effort to preserve what is
left of these last resting places of the early builders of the state.
JOHN R. JCHENBACH'S HOUSE
SADDLE RIVER
THE ACKERMAN HOMESTEAD
DATE OF ERECTION
UNCERTAIN
HISTORICAL SOCIETY 25
REFORMED CHURCH AT PARAMUS
By Everett L. Zabriskie.
The church was organized prior to 1725, and had a regular pastor
at that time. Paramus was originally called Peremese. and was set-
tled by the children of Albert Zabriskie in 1713. Hohokus was set-
tled by the Hopper and Ackerman families in 1720. The first settler
in this section was Aaron Ackerman, who originally occupied the Mrs.
A. A. Blauvelt property. What is now Rid.^ewood was settled by
the Van Emburgh family early in 1725 and these neighborhoods con-
stituted the im.mediate congregation of the Paramus church. Prior
to 1700 there were three churches; one at Hackensack, one at
Acquackanonk and one at Tappan.
Pastor Guilliam Bertholf sei-ved the three churches and toward
the close of his ministry, just after 1700, exact date unknown, two
new churches were formed, one at Paramus and the other at Schraa-
lenburgh. In 1725, Reinhardt Erickson gave three years of his time
to the congregation of the two new churches, following George W.
Manchius, who afterward went to Kingston, N. Y., and there built
up one of the strongest and the best of our Reformed churches
which fetands today as a monument to his faithfulness and persever-
ance.
In 1726, Peter Fauconier made a proposition to the congregation,
offering them a tract of forty-five acres of land for church purposes,
but it was not accepted. In 1730, be again made the proposition and
again it was refused.
In 1734, the consistory appointed Johannes Wynkoop and Claus
Vanderbeck to prepare plans and erect a church edifice. They pro-
ceeded with their work upon a strip of ground representing about
three acres on which the present buildings stand and which was don-
ated by Peter Fauconier, who in return received free seating for
himself and family. Mr. Vanderlinde, a relative of the original Za-
briskie's wife, born at Pollily, and educated for the ministry, took
charge, and in 1750, Mrs. Valleau, the daughter of Peter Fauconier,
gave to the church authorities, the forty-five acres originally offered.
During the Revolution the church was used for officers' quarters,
hospital service, prison, barracks, and stables. After the war, 1785,
a levy of eight shillings on each seat was made and with this money
the church was remodeled and used for fifteen years.
26 BERGEN COUNTY
In 1785, the Ramapo churchi was set off. In 1787, the Pascack con-
gregation applied for the privilege of organizing a church at Pas-
cack, but withdrew the application and it was not until twenty-five
years later that the Pascack church was actually established.
In 1784 owing to the fact that the congregation was large, the
Consistory decided to erect a church at Saddle River; each church to
have its own consistory, but the two to work in unison, and no
separation occurred until late in 1811.
On August 12, 1799, Eltinge decided it was time to rebuild having
used the building since the war. They decided to build a new
church 65 by 50 feet, to place it upon the site of the old, and in
May 1800, the old church was torn down and services were held
for the time being in a barn on the Bogert property across the river.
The Classis of Paramus was organized during the rebuilding, or rather
at the opening of the newl cburch in September, 1800. The bell which
now hangs in the church, bears the inscription of Thomas Hears,
London, 1801. In 1811, separation from the Saddle River church
was consummated. In 1814, Pascack left the Paramus church, and
in 1823, the original Seceder church left Paramus, and only seven
families were left there. In 1859, Rev. E. T. Corwin originated the
idea of Valleau Cemetery, laid it out and opened it for the sale of
lots.
Since then the church has had an enviable history and is now
a flourishing exponent of the Reformed faith.
CATALOGUE
BERGEN COUNTY
HISTORICAL SOCIETY
1914
COMPILED BY
FRANCES A. WESTERVELT
LIBRARIAN
CHAIRMAN of ARCHIVES and PROPERTY
COMMITTEE
28 BERGEN COUNTY
CATALOGUE
Articles of Special interest found in the Society's Year Books. (In
the Envelope Collections.)
Report on Colonial and Revolutionary History and Historical Places.
— Colonel W. D. Snow. — No. one.
Baron Steuhen's Estate.— W. A. Linn. — No. one.
The Poor Monument Celebration. — E. K. Bird. — No. one
Oration Upon the Unveiling of the Statue of General Enoch Poor,—
Hon. Henry M. Baker. — No. one.
Retreat of '76.— T. N. Glover. — No. two.
Bergen County Dutch — Rev. John C. Voorhis. — No. two.
Historic Houses in Bergen County. — B. H. Allbee. — No. two.
Old Family Papers. — Cornelius Christie. — No. two.
Historical Loan Exhibitions. — No. two.
Historiographers' Report. — T. N. Glover. — No. three.
Genealogical Report. — F. A. Westervelt. — No. three.
Indian Life in Bergen County.— Frank G. Speck, Clifford M, Story.
• — No. three.
Old Time Bergen County Doctors. — Dr. Byron G. Van Home. — No.
three.
First Lutheran Church in Bergen County. — E. K. Bird. — No. three.
Demolition of Private Cemeteries. — Everett L. Zabriskie. — No.
three.
New Bridge. — Francis Koehler. — No. three.
The Bar of Bergen County. — Cornelius Doremus. — No. threee.
Slavery in Bergen County. — W. A. Linn. — No. four.
Liberty Pole Tavern. — Nelson K. Vanderbeek. — No. four.
Some of Closters Oid Time History. — Mary Naugle — No. four.
Scraps from My Note Book.— T. N. Glover.— No. four.
The Edsall Papers. — Dr. Byron G. Van Home. — No. four.
The Old Pollifly Road.— Burton H. Allbee. — No. four.
The Church at English Neighborhood. — Dr. B, F. Underwood.— No.
four.
Necrology. — T, N. Glover.— No. four.
Old Land Lines in Hackensack. — George J. Ackerman.— Nos. five
and six.
Ancient Dutch Arclntecture.— B. H. Allbee.— Nos. five and six.
Over Our Northern Border. — T. N. Glover. — Nos. live and six.
Historical Clippings.— F. A. Westervelt. — Nos. five and six
Changes.— Hon. D. D Zabriskie.- Nos. five and six.
Early Legislation Affecting Bergen County.— Hon. E. W. Wakelee.
— Nos. five and six,
Historic Maps.— H. B. Goetschius.— Nos. five and six.
Bergen County Courts.— Hon. W. M. Johnson.
Appendix, (Court House Property Deeds).— Hon. Wm. M. Johnson.
— No. seven.
Historic Closter.— David D. Ackerman. — No. seven.
Outlines of the Natural History of Bergen County.— Henry Hales.
— No. seven.
Presentation Speech.— Judge Cornelius Doremus.— No. seven.
I
HISTORICAL SOCIETY 29
A Sketch of the Reformed Church of Pararaus. — Henry D, Cook,
Pastor. — jNo. seven.
A Description of Old New Jersey — 1698,
Extracts from Scree Old Pajiers.
William Nelson Address, "The American Newspapers of the
Eighteenth Century as Sources of History."
Ancient Sketch of Tenafly.
"A Sturdy Dutchman Who Tramped the Mohawk Valley, 1634."
Interesting Story of Hackensack Printed in 1890. Gives account
of Historical Places on Main Street and Mansion House.
MRS. M. ALLAIRE'S COLLECTION, (Loaned.)
Frying pan used in Peter Burdett's home at Fort Lee to prepare
food for General Wasluiigton.
Suhpoena issued in 1820 from the Court of Chancery in New York,
in a case in which Peter Allaire is complainant and Robert Compbell,
Frederick De I'eyster and Peter Jay and Robert Troupe, were defend-
ants. Signed by Aaron Burr, Solicitor. — Loaned by Mrs. M. Allaire.
Pieces of Home-spun blanket with a Crown and G. K. — King George
— from Burdette Home at Fort Lee. — Loaned by Mrs. M. Allaire.
New Jersey Almanac, 1828. Knickerbocker Almanac, 1865. —
Loaned by Mrs, M. Allaire.
BERGEN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY'S PROPERTY.
One half standard glass case.
One standard glass case.
Two long glass cases.
Two short glass cases.
Seven tables for holding glass cases.
Fourteen camp chairs.
One large bookcase and filing cabinet (combined).
Two wooden horses. (Under Mummie.)
One case, 6 ft. by 2 and 3 ft. high. Glass shelves.
One case, 18x17, Both gift of William O. Allison.
BOUND BOOKS.
A Journal of a Country Woman. — Presented by the Author, Emma
Winner Rogers.
Pictorial History of the Revolution.
Bergen County Historical Society Secretary's Book, No. 1,
Bureau of Statistics of New Jersey, 1912.
One Volume Journal of the Continental Congress, Vol. XIX—
17S1-1912.
One Volume Industrial Directory of New Jersey, 19C9.
Eight Volumes, Somerset County, Historical Quarterly.
Library of Congress. One Volume, Descriptive List of Maps of
Spanish Possessions in the United States, 1502-1820.— Lowery.
Library of Congress, One Volume, Report of the Librarian of
Congress, 1912.
One Volume, Library of Congress Check List of American Eigh-
teenth Century Newspapers.— Ingram, 1912.
30 Numbers, The Journal of American History, 1907-14.
6 Volumes American Educator Library of Universal History. 10
Volumes Harper's Eucyclopedia of United States History, One
Volume, War with Spain, — 'Presented by A, S. D. Demarest.
30 BERGEN COUNTY
Crittenden Papers. Library of Congress.
One Volume Hackensack Dutch Reformed Church Records.
One Volume Schraalenbnrgh Dutch Reformed Church Records.
Last two presented by The Holland Society of New York City.
One Volume History First Reformed Church of Hackensack, N. J.,
1686-186'J.— Presented by F. A. Westervelt.
One Volume Library of Congress, American and English Genealo-
gies, 1910.
Two Volumes Library of Congress Van Buren Papers.
Two Volumes Ecclesiastical Records of the State of New York.
One Volume New Jersey's Ninth Regiment, 1861-1905.
One Volume History of New Jersey. — Lippincott's.
One Volume Memoirs and Reminiscences, Sussex County, N. J.,
by Rev. Casper Schaeffer, M. D.— V^illiam M. Johnson.
One Volume Family of Joris Dircksen, by Cornelius Christie.
One Volume Report of Adjutant General of New Jersey, 1904-05.
One Volume Report of Adjutant General of New Jersey, 1903-04.
One Volume Campaign of Trenton, 1776-77.
One Volume In Camp with Company L.
Four Volumes, Council of Appointment.
One Volume, Library of Congress, Kohl Collection of Maps, 1901.
One Volume Library of Congress, Calendar of John Paul Jones,
1903.
One Volume Library of Congress, Books, Philippine Islands, Maps,
1903.
One Volume Constitution and By-Laws, New York State Historical
Association.
Volumes 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, New York State Historical Association.
Years, 1902, 1903, 1904, 1906, 1908, 1909.
20 Volumes Journals of the Continental Congress.
One Volume, Ulster County, Commemorative Records, Biographies
and Portraits.
3 Volumes, The New Jersey Coast. Genealogical.
2 Volumes, History of Hudson & Essex County, N. J.
3 Volumes, Reports, Library of Congress.
2 Volumes, The Monmouth County Historical Association.
1 Volume, Annual Report of the State Librarian of New Jersey,
1906.
1 Volume "Josephois," loaned by Miss Jennie Zabriskie.
General Atlas, 1821. Loaned by Miss L. Cummings.
Phelps' Travelers' Guide, 1847, "Through the United States, by
Railroad, Canal, Stage and Steamboat Routes" (with map). — Pre-
sented by Dr. D. St. John.
Old Hymnal— 1814, loaned by Henry Bunger.
Old Book, 1814, "Quotations from the British Poets," loaned by
Miss Cummings.
3 Volumes Bergen County Historical Clippings, collected, arranged
and presented by Frances A. Westervelt.
"The Young Carpenter's Assistant," by Owen Biddle, 1805. — Loaned
by John W. Curtis.
Records of the Virginia Company, Vol. 1, 1619-1622. Vol. 2, 1622-
1624. Library of Congress.
Books of Tombstone Inscriptions (Typewritten).
Edgewater, 178.
First Reformed, Hackensack, 500. Collected by F. A. Westervelt.
HISTORICAL SOCIETY 31
First Lutheran, Hackensack, 7.
Harrington Park (])rivate), 5.
Old Hook (Westwood). 11.
True Reformed (abandoned), on Hudson Street.
Hackensack, 20, Collected by F. A. Westervelt.
Leonia True Reformed, 15. Collected by F. A. Westervelt.
Auryanseu, Closter, 5G. Collected by F. A. Westervelt.
The Ponds, Oakland, 219.
French, at New Bridge, 157.
Dumont (North Church of Schraalenburg), 214. Collected by
F. A. Westervelt.
Saddle River, Reformed Church.
Saddle River Lutheran church, 277.
Near Harrington Park Station, 103 inscriptions.
Saucher's Tave's Begraven Ground (Sarah Matthew's Burying
Ground), near Demurest Station. 90 inscriptions, presented by W.
O. Allison. Expense of typewriting inscriptions paid by W. O.
Allison.
CHARLES CURTIS, 28 ESSEX STREET, COLLECTION (Loaned).
The original mail bag used in conveying the mail between New
York and Philadelphia before the existence of the mail service on
the railroads.
Doll's Cradle, made with the wooden hood like large ones. Was
the property of Eliza Haring, born Jan. 6, 1815. Supposed to have
been given her at the age of seven. Given to her great-grand-
daughter, Lois Ann Curtis, Aug. 29, 1912.
One Old Gun, Revolutionary War, Paul Revere type.
Two pewter spoons.
One pewter mug.
One pewter plate.
One pewter bowl.
COLONIAL LOCKS, KEYS, NAILS, PLASTER, Etc.
Keys belonging to the Old Zabriskie house, which stood on the
site of the "Johnson Library." About 150 years old.
Home-made lock and key of an old Teaneck house. Presented by
Charles Adams.
Hand-made wooden lock from old Kip house at Athenia, New Jer-
sey, near Passaic. Loaned by Mr. R. B. Wood.
Hinge from the Van Houten-Vreeland house on Vreeland avenue,
Paterson, N. J. Built 1734, Remodeled 1773. Presented by Mr. Rob-
ert Brown.
Hand-made ring latch from divided Dutch Door, Van Derbeck
house, 1717, on Moore Street, above Main Street Station. Presented
by New York Telephone Company.
Lath and plaster from the Ackerman house. Main Street, Hacken-
sack, N. J. The piaster is common dirt and the lath 2 feet long, 2
inches thick, of very light wood, with pointed ends.
Locks, hinges, mortar, plaster, hand-made nails and brick from old
Kip house on Pollifly Read. Built 1690. Burned 1905.
One red brick lV2x3x7 inches. Brought from Holland in hold ot
ship as ballast. From ruins of old red stone house, "Kips," on Pollifly
Road, one mile below Essex Street. Destroyed by fire 1905, after two
centuries.
32 BERGEN COUNTY
One Holland brick l^^xSxT inches, from Zabriskie tide mill near
New Bridge, N. J. Taken from river in 1912.
One yellow brick I%x3%x7 inches, from ruins of Kip house.
Hand-made latch from old stone "Ferry House," Little Ferry," the
scene of many stirring events during the Revolutionary War.
Hand-split lath and lath nail from above house. Burned Jan. 14,
1913. Five loaned by Charles Cafferty.
Large hand-made hinge from Sipp house, Athenia. Built 1772.
Hand-made hinge from, ruins of Peter Kip house on Pollifly Road.
Brass cupboard fittings from old stone house.
Window blind fastener from burned house at Nordoff.
Oak pin from roof framing old red stone house. Typical of all old
buildings.
Hand-m.ade nail. This design is often found in cellar beams for
hangers.
(6 Presented by Charles Cafferty.)
HISTORICAL SOUVENIRS.
Door with peep hole from old jail torn dovai in 1912. Built in 1919.
Cannon ball taken from the ruins of Fort Ticonderoga and used at
the battle between the French and English in 1758.
Tin box used by Casparus Westervelt during the Revolutionary
War to carry papers. Loaned by Percy Devoe.
Soldiers' plate picked up in New York City after the 71st Regiment
passed on their return from the Spanish-American War. Loaned by
C. Eugene Walsh.
Old 1819 Court House Bell. Supposed to have been used in 1792
Court House. Presented by Board of Fl-eeholders, Sept., 1912. Newly
mounted by Howard B. Goetschius.
1 gun, used in the Revolutionary War. Mark on lock, '^Cassaguard
A. Nante." Presented by Mrs. E. Gardner Board.
2 old guns. FTesented by Mrs. E. Gardner Board.
Spanish War outfit of Newton Cyphers, Co. H, 3d New Jersey In-
fantry. Cartridge belt, canteen, plate, hat, cross arms, fork and tin
cup. Presented by Mrs. Newton Cyphers.
HOUSEHOLD ARTICLES.
Colonial Mirror, bequeathed by Miss Ellen Hopper, 1909.
French Clock, presented by Miss Anna Berdan, 1909.
One pair Silver Candle Sticks, owned by Peter Wilson, used in
Columbia College.
One pair Vases, all loaned by Mrs. William C. Archer.
One Foot Stove. Presented by F. A. Westervelt.
Tea Caddy. Said to have once belonged to Queen Elizabeth. Pre-
sented by Miss Dorothy Hanchett. ,
One Pewter Platter, belonged to Mrs. Peter Haring, 1807, Loaned
by Mrs. Elizabeth Rose, Hackensack.
One Pie Plate (earthen), with head of Washington. Presented by
Mrs. Louise Haggin.
Doll's Mahogany Four Poster Bed. Period of 1800. Also bedding.
Colonial Waffle Iron.
Early Colonial Wool Carders.
Early Colonial Brush for polishing mahogany.
(Last four from Old Brinkerhoff House on Essex Street, and be-
queathed by Miss H. B. Brinkerhoff.)
JOHN OSBORN'S HOUSE
SADDLE "RIVER
FORMERLY VAN BUSKIRK HOMESTEAD
BUILT 1740
HISTORICAL SOCIETY 33
One large Spinning Wheel (wool), from Quackenbush homestead,
Wyckoff. Loaned by Mr?. N. White.
One Farm Fork, over TOO years old.
Wooden Feed Shovel, over 100 years old.
One Candle Mold.
One Brazier, Colonial.
One Old Fire Place Toasting Iron.
Fire Place Almanac Box, H. B., 1772, owned by Henry Banta.
Loaned by Miss Anna Stagg.
Corn Husker, lor hand.
Fish Net Needle from Wortendyke Inn, near south end of Wood-
cliff Lake.
Peg from Home-made Clothes Rack in use in many of the old
stone houses.
Wool Carder from old stone house across creek from Upper Saddle
River Church.
(Last four presented by Charles Cafferty.)
CLYDE B. HAY COLLECTION (Loaned).
Powder Flask, found after retreat of American Army from Fort
Lee
Two Cannon Balls, found in Hook's Pond in Fort Lee,
Two remnants of Exploded Shell.
Piece of Wood from U. S. Frigate Constitution.
Lock and Key from Major John Andre's prison at Tappan.
Stone Tomahawk with handle.
Paper Map 7x12 inches of New York City in 1778.
Fragments of Indian Pottery.
INDIAN RELICS.
•Large Indian Canoe, found in the mud by the Creek, near Court
House. Presented by G. G. Ackerson and G. Randall, 1903.
Indian Pestle, found on farm of Thomas V. B. Zabriskie at Paramus,
near Saddle River. Presented by Mrs. T. V. B. Zabriskie, 1912.
Stone Chippings from remains of a "Kitchen Midden," at Teaneck,
N. J. (B. C. H. S.)
Indian Ceremonial Stone, found on the farm of Captain Henry
Lozier by Mrs. Henry Mildner, at North Hackensack, July 27, 1907.
Yellow Ocher Arrow Head, found at Norwood, N. J., and presented
by Paul Brinkerhoff.
Piece of Carved Wood, by Indians. Loaned by Charles Eypper.
MRS. CHARLES H. LOZIER'S COLLECTION (Loaned).
One Blue and White Coverlet. Rachel Westervelt, 1834. Name
woven in.
Two Dresses for Children.
One Hand-made Lace Wedding Veil.
One Embroidered Collar.
One Embroidered Colla.".
One piece of Crochet Work.
One Cut Glass Tumbler, over 100 years old.
One Old China Bowl.
One child's Chair, over jOO years old.
One Homespun Linen Table Cloth.
One Picture of Early Edsall House, located in English Neighbor-
hood, near what is now Morsemere.
31 BERGEN COUNTY ,
MANUSCRIPTS.
General Green's original manuscript order book. New York head-
quarters, June, July and August, 1776. Given by William O. Allison.
Old Letter in Dutch, 1741. Loaned by A. W. Van Winkle.
Manuscript Editorial by William Cullen Bryant. Loaned by \V.
A. Linn.
Note from Martin F. Tupper to Mr. Bryant, making a correction
In a poem sent to the Evening Post The direction beginning "Mr.
Dithmar," in Mr. Bryant's writing, signed wiith his initials. Loaned
by W. A. Linn.
Article of Agreement, IS 57, between George J. Hopper and Jacoh
Vanderbeek.
Origin of the name of Hohokus. Pearls in Bergen County. Writ-
ten and read at 1913 dinner by John Marinus.
Reminiscence by Mrs. P. E. Moore, of Dumont, N. J., in regard to
Old Schraalenburgh early days.
MAPS.
New York City, 1804. Presented by Lewis Labagh.
Rockland and Orange County, N. Y., 1856.
Hackensack and vicinity.
Map of Disputed Territory. Time when longitude was reckoned
from Washington. Loaned by Miss L. Cummings.
Tentative Historical Map of Bergen County, N. J. Compiled by
H. B. Goetschias F., 1909, lor the Bergen County Historical Society.
Photograph of Map of New York City, 1728. Presented by F. A.
Westervelt.
Geological Survey, Hackensack, sheet No. 1, 1899.
Bergen, Hudson and Essex, 1896.
Relief Map of New Jersey, 1896.
Plan of Liberty Pole Tavern, built in 1801, by John Van Der Beek.
Destroyed by fire, 1835.
Village of Hackensack, surveyed Jan. 1860. Contains business
directory. T. and J. Slator.
From Palisades to Paterson, 1867. Business directory. Small in-
sert of Hackensack. M. and J. Hughes.
Hackensack, 1874. W. Williams. Gift of William O. Allison.
MISCELLANEOUS.
Porto Rican Paper Money. Loaned by W. A. Linn.
Date of the American Occupation. Loaned by W. A. Linn.
Foreign Coin Scale. Gives a table of coin values and weight,
October, 1761. Loaned by Miss L. Gumming.
A Mugler. Used at Liberty Pole Tavern, Englewood. (To stir
drinks.) Presented by Mr. Jasper Demarest.
Stereoscope. Presented to B. C. H. S, in 1902 by H. E. Richmond,
inventor, of Westwood.
Copper Ore from Schuyler Copper Minee, one mile south of Ruther-
ford, on edge of meadow. Presented by C. Cafferty.
Gavel, made from the wood that supported the old Court House
bell, 1819-1912.
Small Model of old Court House Bell, for dinner favor, 1913. Made
from wood that supported the old Court House Bell, 1819-1912.
Bergen County Historical Society Dinner Souvenirs.
HISTORICAL SOCIETY 35
Broken China, picked up after the Tornado at Cherry Hili (North
Hackensack), July 13, 18[)5.
Egyptian Mummy, in case, purchased at Thebes, Egyp.t by Rev.
E. T. Sanford and presented to the society.
"New Jersey General," ready envelope system of Historical Clip-
pings. Classified under Counties by Mr. and Mrs. Charles Cafferty.
Collected and presented by B. H. AUbee.
Essex County. Ocean County.
Passaic County. Gloucester County.
Hudson County. Atlantic County.
Mercer County. Warren County.
Burlington County. Hunterdon County.
Sussex County. Morris County.
Middlesex County. Someset County.
Cumberland County. Union County.
Camden County. Miscellaneous Items.
OLD DEEDS, ETC.
Deed, 1792, Walter Clendenne.
Deed, 1740, Conrad Ver Valen.
Deed, 1792, Garret Vanderhoof.
Deed, 1775, Sebe Hen Banta and Wife Layer (English Neighbor-
hood), (Above in Historical Collection of deeds and papers of Squire
Jacobus Deraarest). All contained in small cherry wood chest said
to be 200 ye&rs old.
(Above four presented by Mrs. C. L. Withington, 1909.)
Certificate of George Clinton, Governor of New York, dated Dec.
1, 1794, with great seal of the state attached.
Ancient Deed, dated May 14, 1695.
Ancient Deed, dated Jan. 4, 1651.
Ancient Deed, dated Dec. 9, 1686.
(Above three loaned by Wm. M. Johnson.)
Tax List, Precinct of Hackensack, 1784. Presented by William
Collins.
Old Account Books of Hackensack, 1791-1S08-1S05. Presented by
J. Demarest.
OLD NEWSPAPERS.
One issue The New Jersey Citizen, Hackensack, Saturday, May
5. 1877.
One Hackensack Star & Bergen Farmer, 1824. Framed and pre-
sented by E. K. Bird, 1909.
One issue N. Y. Herald, Septemher 20, 1881.
One issue N. Y. Tribune, May 31, 1865.
One issue Bergen Index, 1880.
One issue N. Y. Herald, 1865.
One issue Jersey Times, Jersey City Heights, 1877.
One issue N. Y. Times. 1881.
One issue Bergen Index, 1875.
One issue N. J. Citizen, 1876.
One issue Jersey Times, Jersey City, 1876. 1 •
One issue N. Y. Tribune, 1881.
One issue N. Y. Commercial Advertiser, 1881.
One issue N. Y. Tribune, 1881.
36 BERGEN COUNTY
One issue Bergen Index, 1875.
One issue N. Y. World, 1881.
One issue New Rochelle Pioneer, 1885.
One issue Anniversary number, Paterson Press, 1912 (Tenth an-
niversary of great fire and floods).
"The Voice of Passaic," April 22, 1823, Paterson, N. J.
"Bergen Farmer," iHackensack, Jan. 5, 1825.
"The Jersey Blue," Hoboken, Aug. 2, 1837.
"Passaic Guardian," Paterson, Mar. 18, 1845.
"The Bergen County Gazette," Hackensack, Dec 30, 1857. Last
five presented iby E. J. Sheridan, Englewood, N. J.
Siamese Newspapers, loaned by Taylor Holburton.
Peruvian Newspapers, loaned by Jack Terhune.
The Bergen County Journal, 1858. One year's issue ibound and
presented by E. K. Bird.
N. Y. Evening Post, Sept. 14, 1810.
N. Y. Herald, May 20, 1815. Loaned by Miss L. Cummings.
Framed coipy No. 1, Vol. I, of N. Y. Sun, 1835. Presented by
Mrs. Louise S. Jersey.
Thirty-one copies of Current Events, 1913. Presented by John
W. Curtis.
PICTURES AND PORTRAITS.
Engraving of General George Washington, bequeathed by Miss
Ellen F. Hopper.
Engraving of Hon. Wm. M. Johnson, Society's First President.
Engraving of members of New Jersey Senate 1859. Framed and
presented by W. I. Conklin,
Water color picture of Coat of Arms of Bergen, Holland. Presented
by Holland-American Board of Trade.
Six steriopticon viewis. (Historical).
Dinner Souvenir Pictures of different Court Houses, Bergen
County.
Picture of 1819 Court House Bell hanging in the belfry.
Photo of Yates Mill, Westwood, Built by John Demarest, 1680-1690.
Presented by B. H. Allbee.
I. Portfolio of Vermonts pictures of Prominent Men. Presented by
B. H. Allbee.
I Picture New Court House and Jail, 1913.
Framed Bills of Sale for Slaves.
Bill of Sale between Necauje Voor Hesen and David Peter
Demarest of Hackensack, Bergen County, N. J., 1794.
Bill of Sal« between Daniel S. Demarest and David L Demarest,
1803, Hackensack, Bergen County, N. J.
Bill of Sale between Cornelius Van Horn and David Demarest of
Schraalenburgh, Bergen County, N. J. Presented by the heirs of Mrs.
Jacob Van Buskirk, through W. A. Linn.
1 Framed group of 24 Bergen County Historic Houses. Photo-
graphed and presented by B. H. Allbee, 1913.
Three large Steel Engravings: —
Lady Washington's Reception.
Marriage of Pocahontus.
Franklin at the Court of St. James, London, 1774. Presented
by Mrs. Gardner Board.
1 Steel Engraving of Rev. Theodore B, Romeyn, D. D.
HISTORICAL SOCIETl 37
A photograph of Everett L. Zabriskie, former president of the
Society
Two Half Tone Plates of the Coat of Arms of Bergen, in the
Netherlands.
List of Half Tone Cuts of 17 or 18 Dutch Houses. Presented by
Burton H. Allbee.
Schuyler's Mansion, opposite Belleville, N. J.
Ennis House, near West end of Rutherford Avenue Bridge, Ruther-
ford.
Van Buskirk, Main and Ward Streets, Hackensack, N. J.
Board Homestead, Paramus Pike.
Ackerman-Brinkerhoff Homestead on Pollifly Road by old Lodi
Railroad track, Hackensack, N. J.
Kipp Homestead, Union Avenue, Rutherford, N. J.
BrinkerhofC-Christie Homestead, Ridgefield Park, N. J., East of
Railroad.
Winters Homestead, Campgaw, N. J. Finest type of its kind \n
New Jersey.
A collection of unfraraed photos of Dutch Houses. Presented by
B. H. Allbee.
Pliotograph of Monument, erected at Old Bergen, N. J., of Petrus
Stuyvesant, Governor of New Netherlands, 1660.
History and Photographs of the Celebration in honor of the
American Indians, at Tottenville, S. I., Feb. 22, 1913. Presented by
John Warren Curtis.
Half Tone Cut of Johnson Public Library.
Two hundred negatives of Bergen County "Old Dutch Houses,"
"Mills," "Historic Sites," etc. Loaned by Burton H. Allbee.
PAMPHLETS.
Seven issues Annual Report of The Philadelphia Museums.
One issue of Tax Assessments, 1911, New Barbadoes Township.
One issue Perm Magazine of History and Biography.
Sixty issues Magazine of History.
One copy. An address delivered before the New York Historical
Society, on its 92nd. Anniversary, Nov. 18, 1896, by Justin Winsor,
L, L. D.
Seventy-one copies. Magazine of American History.
One copy. Some Historical Places in Northern New Jersey.
One copy, Isaac Edge's Windmill.
Twenty-second and Twenty-fourth annual report of Free Public
Library.
One Souvenir, The Holland Society of New York.
One copy. Old New York, (History and Antiquities).
One copy, John Foulsham.
One copy, Fr. Sebastian Rasle.
Three copies, Proceedings of the New Jersey Historical Society.
TTiree copies. Transactions of the Oneida Historical society, at
Utica, N. Y.
One copy, A Record of Fifty Years.
Five Copies, Vineland Historical and Antiquarian Society.
One copy. Constitution and By Laws of the Gloucester County,
N. J., Historical Society.
One copy, hlarly Salem County.
One copy, Senate-Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
One copy, Descendants of the Pioneers.
38 BERGEN COUNTY
Two copies, Dedication of Monument of Soldiers of Araerican
Revolution.
One copy, Proceedings Bostonian Society.
One copy, Hackensack, Bergen County, N. J.
One copy, Huguenot Society of America.
One copy. Political Parties and Their Places of Meeting, New York
City.
One copy, An Address, New York Historical Society.
One copy. Old New York.
One copy, Proceedings, New England Historic and Genealogical
Society.
One copy. Col. Marinus Willett, The Hero of Mohawik Vallev.
One copy. Genuine Letters, Mary Queen of Scots to James, Earl
of Bothwell.
One copy, Mary Stuait, Bothwell and the Casket Letters.
One copy, Historical Society of Hudson County.
One copy. The Founders own story of founding of Vinoland, N. J.
One copy, Contributions to the Herpetology of New Granada and
Argentina, by Cope.
One copy, The Hunterdon County Historical Society.
One copy. National Magazine.
One copy, Editorial and Historical Notes.
One copy. Proceedings of Sixth Annual Conference of Historical
Societies.
One copy, Schenectady County Historical Society.
One copy. Catalogue of an Historical Exhibition held by the Free
Public Library of Jersey City, 1909.
One copy, Witherspoon Memorial.
One copy. Magazine of Western History, illustrated.
One copy, William Smith, the Historian.
One copy. Souvenir History, Fiftieth Anniversary of the Incorpora-
tion of the Town of West Hoboken, N. J.
One copy. Souvenir of the Dedication and Unveiling of the Town
Clock, Dumont, Bergen County, N, J.
Forty-flve copies. Papers and Proceedings.
Menu Cards.
One copy, Views of Hackensack, Sept. 1900.
One copy, "Washington and Lincom," 1912. Anniversary number.
Prepared for the Public Schools of Colorado.
Transactions of Oneida Historical Society, 1887-1889.
The Huguenots on the Hackensack. Presented by W. M. Johnson.
Twenty-two volumes. Magazine of American History.
One volume. Souvenir, History of the Oranges, N. J.
One volume. Historic Walkill and Hudson River Valley.
One volume, American Historical Register.
An examination of old Maps of Northern New Jersey with refer-
ence to the Identification of the Area and Washington's Route
across it. Presented by B. H. AUbee.
One volume. Proceedings of Vermont Historical Society, 1909-1910.
One volume, 250th Anniversary of Christ's First Presbyterian
church of Hempstead, L. I., 1644-1894,
Hudson-Fulton Celebration.
Tunnel Day.
Bergon and Jersey City Souvenir of 250th Anniversary of the
Founding of Bergen.
The Jersey City Post Office. Past and Present.
The Free Public Library.
HISTORICAL SOCIETY 39
A Brief outline of the Government of Jersey City.
Catalogue of an Historical Exhibition held by the Free Public
Library of Jersey City.
Above seven books donated by Free Public Library of Jersey City.
One volume. Proceediugs of the Seventh Annual Conference of
Historical Societies, 1910.
Five volumes, Almanac and Year Book, (Historical), Woodstown
N. J., First National Bank, 1910-1914.
One volume. Story of the Slave, (in New Jersey), by Alfred M. Hes
ton.
One volume. Library of Congress, Publications of the Library is
sued since 1S97. Jan 1913.
Three volumes. The Historical Society of Hudson County.
One volume. The Public Service Rate Problem. By Thomas N
McCarter, 1911.
One catalogue, Historical exhibition, Jersey City Library, 1909
Hudson-Fulton Celebration.
Lamentations over the Rev. Solomon Froeligh, S. S. T. D. & P.
who died at Schraalenburgh, N. J., Oct. 8, 1827, at 2 p. m. Delivered
in True Reformed Protestant Dutch church in King street, City of
New York, on Lord's Day Morning, Oct. 28, 1827, by Cornelius T
Demarest, A. M. V. D. M. Minister of King Street New York Church
Acts and proceedings of General Synod of True Reformed Dutch
church in United States America, at Ovid, June 1833. Also copy of
1835 at New York, a development of facts and circumstances justify
ing a Union with the True Reformed Dutch Church, by Cardistian Z
Paulison, A. M., Minister of the United True Reformed Churches of
Hackensack, English Neighborhood, N. J., 1831.
Plain Truths about Saddle River Church Money Matters, 1837-8.
Bergen County Historical Society's Scope and "Work. 29 books.
Fifty-eight books, "Year Books," 1902-5.
Year Books, 1906-7. (108 books).
Sixty-five Year Books, 1907-8.
Eighty^seven Year Books. 1908-9-10-11. 100 of 1912. 200 of 1914.
Classification Class, B. F. Library of Congress.
"God's Marvelous Thunder," a sermon. Preached in the Church
at Hackensack by Rev. Solomon Froeligh, S. S. T. D. & P. On oc-
casion of the lightning and thunder striking and rending the steeple
of said Church on Friday, July 10, 1795. (Translated from the Dutch).
Printed 1830. Presented by F. A. Westervelt.
Pamphlets, address delivered at the unveiling of the Washington
Statue at Newark, Nov. 2, 1912, by Francis J. Swayze.
Pamphlets. Annual Report Public Schools, 1913. The early grist-
mill of Wyominy Valley, Pa.
Proceedings of Wyominy Historical and Geological Society, 1905.
Address before Wyominy Members, Penn., Society, Sons of the
Revolution, 1895.
The Palatine or German Immigration. Rev. Sanford H. Cobb.
History, Charter and By-Laws of the Wyominy Historical and
Geological Society, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
Address at Erection of Monument to Captain Joseph David and
Lieutenant William Jones, slain by Indians, at Luzerne Run, Luzerne
County, Pa.
The Jersey Dutch Dialect. By Dr. J. Dyneley Prince.
Ready reference envelope arrangement of clippings of History of
Bergen County. Court Houses, Churches, Schools, Revolutionary
40 BERGEN COUNTY
Houses, Mills, Industries, Post Offices, Old Houses, People, etc., as
follows:
1. Historical Addresses and Papers.
2. Town Cele'brations.
3. Bergen County Historic Pictures.
4. Haickensack Historic Pictures.
5. Legal iDocuments.
6. History of Washington Institute.
7. Hir/.orical Prizes.
8. History of School No. 31.
9. Society Dinner Menus, Invitations, etc.
10. Genealogical References.
11. History and Pictures, etc., of the New Court House.
12. "Fighting Thirteenth" Reunion, held at Park Ridge, Sept. 18,
1912.
13. "Wayne's Attack on Block House, Bulls Ferry.
14. "Forfeited Dwelling Revolutionary Days Still Stand." History
and Photos of the Zabriskie-Steuben House, New Bridge, N. J. B.
H. AUbee.
15. "Mad Anthony Wayne, Failed on Fierce Attack Upon the Brit-
ish Block House at Bulls Ferry." (With photos of Block House and
other iplaces of interest). B. H. Allbee.
16. Post Offices of Bergen County.
17. "Passing of the Fair Mansion."
18. Ancient Kingsland Manor. (History and photographs). B.
H. Allbee.
19. Early Dutcli Architecture in Northern New Jersey. Illustrated.
B. H. Allbee.
20. Second Reformed Church History, Hackensack. First Re-
formed Church History, Hackensack.
21. "Inventor Sure of His Device." (Mechanical drying of brick
at Carlstadt.) B. H. Allbee.
22. One List of Diners at Historical Dinner.
23. Ridgewood, N. J., Historical Celebration, 1912.
24. Bergen County, Its Past; Its Present; Its Future. By Burton
H, Allbee.
25. "Rev. Ezra T. Sanford Dead," one of the Found'ers of the His-
torical Society of Bergen County.
26. 'iDungeon Found Neath Jersey House." (The Baron Steuben
House.)
27. Sketch of Rutherford, N. J.
28. History of West Point and Centennial Celebration, April 29-30,
1889.
29. The Fair Mansion, Essex Street, Hackensack, N. J.
30. Article on the Jackson Whites. ;
31. B. H. Allbee's Historical Talks, etc.
32. Historical Extracts.
33. Areola Methodist Church.
34. "The Wind Jammers," of Hackensack. E. K. Bird.
35. Bergen County's First Lutheran Church.
36. The Old Canoe of Hackensack.
37. Old Land Lines in Hackensack.
38. "Old Hackensack," seen through the eyes of an Octogenarian.
39. An Historic Old Farm at Pompton.
40. Some Historic Places in Northern New Jersey. By T. N.
Glover.
HISTORICAL SOCIETY 41
41. The Arlington Copper Mines. T. N. Glover.
42. The Fifth Ward's New School.
43. History of School District No. 31, 1825, and Account of Fire,
etc., 1910.
44. Huguenots. Only Colony in New Jersey.
45. Sketch of Peter Wilson.
46. History of Anneka-Jans Borgardus.
47. The Liberty Pole Tavern, Englewood.
48. History of Hohokus.
49. Story of the Slave. A. M. Hesten.
50. Bergen County Historic Houses and Mills with pictures and
history. By Burton H. Allbee.
51. Five Men of New Jersey Signed the Declaration of Inde-
pendence.
■52. Recollections of Hackensack, 50 to 70 Years Ago. By G. J.
Ackerman, 1902.
53. "Washington's Back Track from Newburgh to the Ferries."
54. Old Time Education Throughout New Jersey.
55. Historic Preakness.
56. Trenton Man Unearths Valuable Records of the New Jersey
Loyalists in the Revolution.
57. Historic Tappan.
58. History of Calvary Baptist Church. Tenth Anniversary.
59. Governors' Portraits of New Jersey. (17.)
60. Landmarks of Polifly Road, Hackensack, with history and
photographs of old Houses. By Burton H. Allbee.
61. Brigadier General Poor. Unveiling of Monument at Hacken-
sack.
62. Memories of Passaic River, 50 Years Ago. Articles About
Passaic.
63. Old Bridge, now River Edge, When Washington Crossed the
Hackensack River.
64. New Jersey in Song and Story.
65. Washington Retreating to Jersey Found Stronghold in Ramapo
eills.
66. First Presbyterian Church, Hackensack, Seventy-fifth Anni-
versary.
67. '"Building a Reservoir in the Valley of Hillsdale Manor," Ber-
gen County.
68. Historic Fort Lee. Unveiling of Monument.
69. America's Oldest Copper Mine. 1719. Schuyler's, at Arling-
ton, N. J.
70. Historic Paramus and Church.
71. Bergen County Nomenclature. E. K. Bird.
72. "Aunt Sally Herring, nee Van Derbeck, and her House in
Hackensack." 1907 Celebrates her 96th birthday.
73. "A Journalist, Wm. A. Linn, Turns Author."
74. The Story of Baron Steuben, hy W. A. Linn.
75. Ancient Kingsland Manor.
REV. E. T. SANFORD'S COLLECTION (Loaned).
U. S. Records of Survey and Discovery in the Great West, 1822.
Scotch Geography, 1832.
Lava from Vesuvius.
Stone from Quarries of Solomon, Jerusalem.
42 BERGEN COUNTY
iLeaf from an Account Book, Dec. 22, 1797.
Stone from the Wall of Jerusalem.
Jordan Lily.
Stone from the Pyramid Cephrue.
Piece of the Frigate Constitution.
Egyptian Lamp.
Key of Wheeler Homestead, Warwick, N. Y., 1760.
Fishing Net from Italy.
Cone of Cedar of Lebanon.
Roman Coin.
Seven Old Books.
Belt Buckle, Elevator Bucket and Bolting Cloth, from Sanford
Mills, Warwick, N. Y., where grain was ground during the Revolution,
One Spur used in General Training at Vernon, N. J.
MRS. FRANCES A. WESTERVELT'S COLLECTION (Loaned).
One Small Bowl. Old Blue.
Three Tureens. (One Millennium design). Old Blue.
One Ladle.
One Large Platter. Light Blue.
Three Small Platters. Old Blue.
Sixteen Plates, Old Blue. (One the Landing of Lafayette at
Castle Garden.)
One Lustre (Silver) Sugar Bowl.
Cream Pitchers. (Copper Lustre.) Two.
One Sugar Bowl. (Copper Lustre.)
One Cup and Saucer. (Lustre.)
One Cup. (Lustre.)
One Teapot. (Castleford.)
iFive Sugar Bowls. One having picture of Washington at Mount
Vernon.
One Punch Bowl. Old Blue.
One Large Bowl. Old Blue.
Five Pitchers. Old Blue.
One Cup Plate. Light Blue.
One Small Plate. Light Blue. \
One Pickle Dish. Old Blue.
Three Cups. Old Blue.
One Cup and Saucer. Pink.
One Saucer. Old Blue.
One Gravy Bowl, Tray and ladle. Old Blue.
Two Home-Made Pewter Spoons.
One Cocoa Pot.
One Large Cider Jug. Old Blue.
One Ink Well and Sand Box.
One Wash Bowl and Pitcher. Light Blue.
One Wash Bowl and Pitcher. Light Blue.
One Large Pitcher.
One Band Box. Old Style with Pictures.
One Quaker Bonnet.
One Quaker Cape.
One Chintz Steel Plate Bed Valance.
One Hoop Skirt.
One Dutch Chair. (Rush Bottom.)
Four Lace Caps. All hand-made.
HISTORICAL SOCIETY 43
Two Pairs Under-Sleeves. Beautiful embroidery.
Two Collars.
One Pair Curtain Holders. (Gilt.)
One Plageolette.
One High Back Shell Com!).
One Silk Tissue Dress. 1845.
One Pair Doll Shoes, 1855.
One Pair Corset Boards, 1840. (Stomacher).
One Cut Glass Salt Dish and Bone Spoon.
One Silk Apron, 1840.
Three Pieces Ruby Glass Ware.
One Pewter Sugar and Cream.
One Pair Pewter Candle Sticks.
One '^Cracker," Handle Parasol.
One Wedding Bonnet, 1840.
Home-Made Linen, Table, Bed and Ticking.
iNine Samples Home-Spun Woolen Goods.
One Bunch Black Wool (natural), for Weaving.
One Foot Stove.
One Holland Shoe.
One Lot of Almanacs from 1840.
One Shutter Fastener. (Old Red Stone House, Pollifly Road.)
Old Fashioned Hanging Candle Holder.
One Tea Caddy.
One Piece of the Atlantic Cable.
One Pair Woolen Carders.
List of Pew Owners of True Reformed Church, 1867.
One German Silver Soup Ladle.
One Pewter Coffee Pot.
Two Tobies.
One Old Horn Powder Flask.
One Stone of Peculiar Formation.
One Double Plate (Hot Water), Rev. Officer. Old Blue.
One Cup, Saucer and Plate. (Cottage China.)
One Hand-Made Pancake Turner.
One Shaving Water Iron Pot from a Fire-Place Crane.
Four Candle Molds.
One Large Ball of Candle Wick.
Home-Spun Bag to Hold Wick.
One Turnkey Used Formerly to Extract Teeth.
One Old Lock and Key from Brideswell Jail, from City Hall Park,
New York. Was Revolutionary Prison.
One Bergen County Collection of Indian Arrow Heads, and Frag-
ments of Pottery.
One Collection of Indian Arrow Heads from Long Island. Mount
Sinia.
44 BERGEN COUNTY
One Collection of Indian Paint Pots and Pestle from Long Island
Indian Reservation. Mount Sinia.
One Curious Stick.
One Primer. 1800.
Old Newspapers.
One Earthen Pie Dish.
A Quaker Bonnet in an Interesting Home-Made Band Box.
Farmer's Almanacs from 1842.
Laces, China, Glassware, Pamphlets, etc.
Three (3) Antique Copper Kettles from Van Saun, BrinkerhofE and
Hopper Families.
One Large Copper Jug.
One Large Copper Basin.
One Old Earthen Pie Dish.
HISTORICAL SOCIETY 45
MEMBERSHIP LIST
ANNUAL MEMBERS.
Abbott, John C Port Leo
Ackerman, Daniel D Closter
Adams, Dr. Charles F Hackensack
Adams, Robert A Hohokus
Asmus, Grover E West Hobokon
Bennett, Henry N Hackensack
Bierbrier, Edward Saddle River
Bird, Eugene K Hackensack
Bogert, Andrew Englewood
Bogert, Matt J Demarest
Bogert, Daniel G Englewood
Bogert, Albert Z River Edge
Bogert, Cornelius V. R Bogota
Brinkerhoff, Charles V Hackensack
Cafferty, Charles Hackensack
Cane, Fred W Bogota
Coggeshall, H. Ingerrfoll Wortendyke
Cooper, Richard W New Milford
Cosse. Edwin F Paterson
Criss, Hugo P Hohokus
Crum, Fred H River Edge
Crum, Mrs. Fred H. . , River Edge
Cubberly, Nelson A Glen Rock
Curtis, Grover D 51 E. 58th St., New York
Dalrymple, C. M Hackensack
DeBaun, Abram . . Hackensack
DeBaun, Mrs. Abram Hackensack
Delemater, P. G Ridgewood
Demarest, A. S. D Hackensack
Demarest, Jacob R Englewood
Demarest, James E Westwood
Diaz, Jose M Hackensack
Doremus, Cornelius Ridgewood
Easton, Edward D Areola
Eckert, George M Saddle River
Englehart, Charles Ridgefield
Essler, Jobn G Saddle River
Goetschius, Howard B Little Ferry
Goetschius, D. M Little Ferr>-
46 BERGEN COUNTY
Grunow, Julius S Hackensack
Haggerty, M. L Hackensack
Haring, Tunis A Hackensack
Hay, Clyde B Hackensack
Hester, Earl L. D Hasbrouck Heights
Jacobus, M. R Ridgefield
Jeffers, Daniel G Hackensack
Johnson, William M Hackensack
Johnson, James LeBarcn Hackensack
Kipp, James Tenafly
Keiser, Isaac B., Hohokus
Lang, Dr. E. A Palisade
Liddle, Joseph G New York
Linn, William A Hackensack
Mabie, Clarence Ridgewood
Mabon, John S Hackensack
Marinus, John A Ridgewood
Meyer, Francis E Closter
Morrison,, William J., Jr Ridgefield Park
Morrow, Dwight W Ehglewood
Packer, J. E Hohokur.
Parigot, George W .Allendale
Pearsall, J. W Ridgewood
Piatt, Daniel F Englewood
Potter, George M Allendale
Ramsey, John A Hackensack
Richardson, Myron T Ridgewood
Riker, Theo Paterson
Rogers, Henry M Tenafly
Sage, L. H Hackensack
Sheridan, E. J Englewood
Sowter, E. T , Ridgewood
Spear, William M Leonia
Snyder, George J Ridgewood
Stagg, Edward Leonia
St. John, Dr. David Hackensack
Tallman, William Englewood
Terhune, P. Christie Hackensack
Terhune, Mrs. P. Christie Hackensack
Thompson, Robert W., Jr Ridgefield
Van Buskirk, Arthur Hackensack
Van Home, Dr. Byron J Englewood
Van Nest, Rev. J. A Ridgewood
Van Winkle, Arthur W Rutherford
Van Wagner, Jacob Ridgewood
Voorhis, Rev. John C Bogota
HISTORICAL SOCIETY 47
Wakelee, Edmund W New York
Watt, Salina Hackensack
Wells, Benjamin J Hackensack
Westervelt, Mrs. F. A Hackensack
Wilson, Richard T Ridgewood
Wilson, Robert T Saddle River
Wood, Robert J. G Leonia
Woodman, Charles Ridgewood
Wright, Wendell J Hackensack
Zabriskie, David D Ridgewood
Zabriskie, Everett L Ridgewood
LIFE MEMBERS.
Allbee, Burton H 724 E. 22d. St., Paterson.
Allison, William O Englewood
Cameron. Alpin J Ridgewood
Foster, W. Edward Hackensack
Green, Allister New York
Haggin, Mrs. L. T Closter
Preston, Veryl New York
Voorhis, Charles C, New York
Zabriskie, A. C New York
HONORARY MEMBERS.
Bogert, Isiaac D Westwood
Vroom, Rev. William Ridgewood
Demarest, Milton Hackensack
4S
BERGEN COUNTY
Jn iH^monam
%^ ^
Bogart, Peter B. Jr Bogota
Brinkerhoff, A. H Rutherford
Christie, Cornelius Leonia
Clark, Edwin Ridgewood
Currie, Dr. David A Englewood
Demarest, Isaac I Hackensack
Dutton, George R Englewood
Edsall, Samuel S Palisade
Hales, Henry Ridgewood
Holdrum, A. C Westwood
Labagh, William O Hackensack
Lane, Jesse New Milford
Lane, Mrs. Jesse New Milford
Lawton, I. Parker Ridgewood
Romaine, Christie Hackensack
Sanford, Rev. Ezra T New York
Shanks, William Hackensack
Snow, William D Hackensack
Terhune, Peter O Ridgewood
HISTORICAL SOCIETY 49
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Frontispiece, Paramus Church.
Photo by Burton H. AUbee,
Page
List of Officers 2
The Washington Institute, William M. Johnson 4
Bergen County Descendants in Nova Scotia, Dr. Byron G. Van
Home 17
Our County Disgrace, Burton H. AUbee 21
Reformed Church at Paramus, Everett L. Zabriskie 21
Catalogue 27
Articles in Year Books 28
Mrs. M. AUaires Collection 29
Society's Property 29
List of Bound Books 29
Charles Curtis Collection 31
Locks, Keys, Nails, Plaster, etc 31
Historical Souvenirs 32
Household Articles 32
Indian Relics 33
Mrs. Charles H. Lozier's Collection 33
Manuscripts 34
Maps 34
Miscellaneous 34
Old Deeds 35
Old Newspapers 35
Pictures and Portraits 36
Pamphlets 37
Rev. E, T. Sanf ord's Collection 41
Mrs. F. A. Westervelt's Collection 42
Membership List 45
In Memoriam ^
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