Class F 1^4-
Book_^2A4iL
COLONIAL
AND
OLD HOUSES,
OF
Greenwich, New Jersey,
BY
BESSIE AVARS ANDREWS,
author of
'Historical Sketches of Greenwich in Old Cohansey"
ILLUSTRATED.
PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR.
VINELAND. NEW JERSEY,
I907.
G. E. SMITH, PRINTER.
VINELAND. N. J.
TO THE DESCENDANTS
OF THE
EARLY SETTLERS OF GREENWICH,
AT HOME AND ABROAD,
THIS WORK IS INSCRIBED,
WITH SINCERE RESPECT AND ESTEEM.
BY THE AUTHOR.
PREFACE.
The great interest in later years to everything pertain-
ing to the early history of our country has been an
incentive to write the history of the colonial and old houses
of Greenwich.
The old town having been the place of my nativity,
and home for many years, it has been my privilege to cross
the threshold of many of the ancient houses, some of them
the homes of valued friends, from whom 1 have learned
much of the past.
I have prepared the following pages with much care,
endeavoring to preserve some of the history of that portion
of the past which pertains to the home of the early settler.
From the early records of deeds and wills preserved
in the archives of the state, and now accessible by their
publication, 1 have found names and dates not otherwise
obtainable. I also wish to acknowledge my indebtedness
to the Vineland Historical and Antiquarian Society, for
the use of its valuable library.
It is hoped that these glimpses of days long gone, and
the record of men and women who have made the
old houses their dwelling place, may be of interest to the
present generation, who should hold as a precious inheri-
tance the memory of their ancestors, the early settlers of
Greenwich.
Bessie Avars Andrews.
Vineland, New Jersey.
November 1907.
"By waters side, on lomly road and village street,
'Neath ancient trees, whose sheltering branches meet,
Old houses stand, as they stood long, long ago;
Each one, a mute witness of life's ebb and flow."
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CHAPTER I.
Ilbc (Btbbon IHousc*
Pleasantly situated on the North side of Cohansey
River, a few miles from its entrance into Delaware
Bay, is the old town of Greenwich, which has had more
than two centuries of existence.
On the broad street of the village, and throughout the
Township of Greenwich are a number of Colonial houses
still standing and a larger number that have stood a cen-
tury or more. Time, in its ever forward march and
destroying agencies, and man ever striving to ameliorate
his environment, have erased many of the primitive ones.
One of the best preserved and most imposing in the
village, erected in Colonial days is the Gibbon house.
A mere passer by will not notice its great antiquity by its
general appearance, but a close observer will see the old
fashioned architecture in doors and windows with the nar-
row shingled roof or awning built over them for protection,
and the obsolete style of brick laying, having been laid
lengthways and sideways symmetrically in construction.
The style has been called the checker pattern; the red
6 COLONIAL AND OLD HOUSES OF GREENWICH.
bricks are said to have been imported from England, and
the lighter colored ones were made from the clay on
the grounds.
The house was considered elegant at the time of its
erection, and was so carefully and substantially built that
it has proved a weather proof structure; for the stormy
elements have battled against it for one hundred and sixty-
seven years without defacing its outward form.
If you enter the interior you will find amplitude and
many hints of by gone years; a broad hall with an open
stairway leading to the floor above, a large room on each
side of the hall; the room on the right from the entrance
contains two large corner cupboards arched over the door-
ways, one of them with glass in the doors, which in the
past displayed the imported china or crockery, and glisten-
ing pewter which were especially dear to the women of the
household. A few steps down from the room at the left of
the entrance lead to the kitchen. A large kitchen was
considered essential in the days of the Colonies, and was
the most cheerful and homelike room in the house; the
glowing hearth radiated brightness and warmth from the
blazing logs in the wintry season, and the fire dogs usually
shone with polished brightness. The King's arm was often
suspended over the fire-place. They chatted and enter-
tained a neighbor, cooked and dined, and did a great variety
of work in the kitchen.
The great capacity of the kitchen of the Gibbon home-
THE GIBBON HOUSE. ^
stead, originally built with its large corner cupboard and
brick lloor, convinces the visitor of to-day that all the olden
time industries our great grandmothers engaged in,
such as spinning and weaving, dyeing and carding, sewing
and knitting, candle making and such like, were all suc-
cessfully carried on there, and we feel like pausing and
bowing our heads with reverence when we think of all the
"Life and death that have come and gone over that thresh-
hold of wood and stone,"
The Gibbon House was built by Nicholas Gibbon about
the year 1730, which he occupied until 1740, then moved
to Salem, New Jersey. Nicholas and his brother Leonard
Gibbon were devised a large tract of land in West New Jer-
sey by Frances Gibbon, of Bennesdere, England, provided
they settle upon it. They were London merchants and men
of wealth in a direct line from Edward Gibbon, of New
York. They were young men of action and energy and
were conspicuous figures in the early history of Greenwich,
and did much for the need and prosperity of the incoming
settler.
Nicholas was engaged in mercantile business In part-
nership with Samuel Fenwick Hedge (a great grandson of
John Fenwick) and Captain James Gould, the last named
being located in New York, while Gibbon kept store in
Greenwich.
The Gibbon brothers erected one of the first grist mills
in Cohansey, upon the stream called Macanippuck.
8 COLONIAL AND OLD HOUSES OF GREENWICH.
Still stands the old mill
At the foot of the hill,
With the stream flowing close by its side.
Much the same as of yore
A hundred years and more
Have passed since the builders died.
The brothers later built a fulling mill on Pine Mount
Run, the writer having seen the decaying timbers when a
child. The last owner and proprietor was Providence L.
Sheppard.
Leonard Gibbon built a stone house a few miles north
west of his brothers residence overlooking the waters of
the mill-pond; a portion of this structure is still in existence,
being utilized by the present owner for barn purposes.
The brothers were Episcopalians and with their means
built an Episcopal church on the main street of Greenwich.
It was named St. Stephen and consecrated in 1729, but has
been entirely obliterated in times passing years.
Nicholas Gibbon moved to Salem in 1740 and be-
came very influential in Salem County. He was appointed
Sheriff in 1741 and retained the position until 1748 and
in the same year was appointed County Clerk. He was
also one of the commissioners of the Loan office for Salem
County.
His partner, Samuel Hedge, in the mercantile business,
dying in 1731, he married the widow (Anna Grant Hedge.)
From this union they had five children: Nicholas, born Nov-
THE GIBBON HOUSE. 9
ember 5th, 1732, died July ist, 1748; Grant, born Novem-
ber 28th, 1734. He was said to be a man of superior edu-
cation and culture. He was one of the Surrogates of West
Jersey, and was appointed a Justice of the Peace in 1759,
a Judge in 1762 and again in 1767, and was Clerk of Salem
County after his father's death. He was an ardent sym-
pathizer with the American Cause which he evinced in a
substantial manner. He was very popular, and at the
earnest request of his fellow citizens was appointed the
17th of October, 1774 to solicit funds for the relief of the
people of Boston when that port was closed to commerce
by the British; he collected 157 pounds, 3 shillings and 2
pence, for the purpose. He was elected to the Assembly
in 1772. He died June 27th, 1776 at the early age of
forty-two years.
In the Pennsylvania Gazette, March 29th, 1759, the fol-
lowing advertisement is found.
TO BE SOLD.
A house and lot in the town of Greenwich, in the
County of Cumberland, West New Jersey. The house is
of brick, large and well built, two stories high, with a large
kitchen. It is conveniently situated for a store, also six-
teen acres of v/oodland and two acres and a half of meadow,
within three quarters of a mile of the same.
For title and terms apply to the subscriber, in the town
of Salem. GRANT GIBBON.
lO COLONIAL AND OLD HOUSES OF GREENWICH.
The third child born to Nicholas and Anna Gibbon was
a daughter, Jane, born May 15th, 1736. She married
Robert Johnson, Jun., and was the mother of Col. Robert
Gibbon Johnson, the Historian of Salem County. She
died August 16, 181 5. Her husband died December 28,
1796. Ann, the second daughter and fourth child, was
born April 29, 1741, married Judge Edward Weatherby.
Frances, born May 14, 1744, died November i, 1788.
Nicholas Gibbon died February 2, 1758 aged fifty-five
years. His widow died March 24, 1760, aged fifty -seven
years.
The old Gibbon Mansion stands on the Main Street of
Greenwich, almost directly opposite the modern residence
of Mrs. Fannie A. Sheppard— known for her many deeds of
philanthrophy thoughout the county.
The house has been in the possession of the Wood
family of Philadelphia for many years. Richard Wood,
the second, bought the house and land attached, and spent
the evening of his days with Mary his second wife, who
was the widow of Job Bacon. After her husband's death
she remained in the homestead, and her home was consider-
ed a resort for her many relatives and friends.
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CHAPTER 11.
Z\K Bon^ IHouse.
There are several old houses on the main street of
Greenwich, not far from the landing.
One of interest is a stone house, apparently in good
condition, on the eastern side of the "Great Street," which
has been in daily use for more than two hundred years. It
is said that when the Gibbon brothers came to West Jersey
and took possession of their large estate, before they
divided their tract of land, this primitive stone house was
the first home they occupied; and it is supposed to have
been built by them, but the knowledge concerning the
builder has not been recorded.
The Episcopal Church that stood in close proximity to
this place was built by the brothers, and for a long time,
tombstones could be seen back of the house, but have
mostly, if not entirely disappeared.
The old house is singular in construction; high steps
leading to the front entrance, while beneath are windows,
that suggest a basement; there is a long sloping roof and
the view from the side, like most of the early houses, indi-
12 COLONIAL AND OLD HOUSES OF GREENWICH.
cate room in the interior. There has long been a tradition
in the village that the Gibbon brothers built all the early
stone houses, and their occupancy of this white stone
structure, gives dignity and interest to the building, that so
long has withstood the storms of time, and stands erect at
the present.
After they built other homes and occupied them, we
have no knowledge of who dwelt within its walls, until it
became the residence of Dr. Bond, one of the earlier phy-
sicians of Greenwich, and is called by the villagers, "The
Old Bond House."
Some of the oldest inhabitants have dim recollections
of the aged physician, just before his departure to the West.
It is said Dame Fashion never influenced him in his
mode of dress, wearing the same style in age, he used in
youth; he was very tall and spare, and his short clothes
and high boots, gave him a singular appearance to the
stranger who saw him for the first time. He was said to
have peculiar religious views, seldom entering a church, but
regarding the seventh day the Sabbath; the shutters of his
office were promptly closed every Saturday, and all
business prohibited on his premises.
He gained the universal respect of the citizens of
Greenwich, by his integrity of character, his kindness of
heart and great sympathy and helpfulness to the sick and
distressed; he was very conscientious in regard to money
matters, considering interest for money usury, but glad-
THE BOND HOUSE. 13
ly loaning without interest to those he could trus't.
He was business like in all his transactions, even in
his proposals for marriage. An old lady resident of
Greenwich, who a few years ago in her ninety-fifth year,
passed to the great beyond, sometimes related to her
friends a proposal of marriage he made to her, when she
was a young woman. While passing the house, he opened
the door, inviting her in, informing her he wished to see
her; on entering, she was much startled by his immediately
asking her to marry him, she started directly out, saying
No! No! to his urgent appeal.
He was thrice married; his first wife was Rebecca
Burr, second Anna Paxton, and third Eliza Brown.
The following obituary was originally published in
one of the Bridgeton papers.
"Died on the 3rd inst.. Dr. Levi Bond, aged ninety-
three years; having spent the greater part of his life in
Greenwich, N. J., in the practice of his profession; in the
year 1836 he moved to Roseburg, Union County, Indiana,"
where as a shock of corn fully ripe for the harvest he was
gathered into the garner of God.
His urbanity of manners and integrity of character,
gained for him universal respect, and by many to whom
when diseased, he was a successful minister and sympa-
thizing friend."
A short distance south of the Bond house is another
of the old earlv houses, which was known as Judy
14 COLONIAL AND OLD HOUSES OF GREENWICH.
Husted's home years ago.
It is thought by some the Historic Tea was stored in
the cellar of this house in 1774; standing as it does in front
of old Market Lane. According to the tradition of the old
residents, the house owned by Dan Bowen, in whose cel-
lar the Tea was stored, stood near the entrance of Market
Lane on the south side of the street; this house was oc-
cupied for a long time by David Sutton, a shoemaker.
In after years when the ground was plowed where
the conflagration of the Tea took place, evidence of the fire
was seen by the residents.
In the same vicinity farther north on Greenwich
street are two old houses low in their style of archi-
tecture, that belong to the remote past. One of them
is the Harding homestead and has never passed out of
the family, it was owned and occupied for many years by
Ercurious Fithian, who married a daughter of John Hard-
ing. It is still in the possession of a grand-daughter, Mrs.
John Wheaton.
The other one is located on the western side of the
street and a part of it was utilized for the Post Office of
Greenwich for many years. It was owned by another
daughter of John Harding and the two homes were called
the homes of the sisters.
As we go north on the eastern side of the street, we
soon approach the old residence of the late Hannah Moore
Sheppard who died at the advanced age of ninety-two
THE BOND HOUSE. 1 5
years — the last of a large family of brothers and sisters, all
of whom lived to be aged. This white house makes a fine
picture as it stands surrounded by lovely trees and shrub-
bery; the four quaint glass "Bulls Eyes" over the doorway
bespeak of the past and make the house interesting.
About fifty years ago this home was one of the most
attractive in the village; rare palms, exotics, and gay beds
of flowers adorned the lawns, creeping vines and climbing
roses were artistically trained around the windows and en-
trance; rare species of cacti with its showy blossoms
graced the front porch, while the dark green odorous box
bush environed the house and lawn. Dr. Ephraim Holmes,
a practicing physician of Greenwich was nearly a life long
resident of this home; he was a descendent from the early
settler by that name.
Across the street from the Sheppard residence, south,
is the home of the late Mary W. Bacon. There has long
been a tradition in the village, that the oldest part of
Miss Bacon's home, imprisoned a pirate in the days of
piracy, and the people of the village heard the rattling of
his chains as they passed the house.
On the main street of the village, in the vicinity of
these houses stand a row of stately sycamore trees, whose
aged boughs have swayed in the stormy blasts of many
winters, and at every returning springtide, the Robin Red-
breasts have alighted in the fair branches of the tall trees,
mid leaves that sigh and whisper in the wind, and sang
l6 COLONIAL AND OLD HOUSES OF GREENWICH.
their joyous matin and vesper songs; there are twelve of
them in number, standing so close together that they
"Mix their boughs and interlace,
in a slumbrous fond embrace,
While the one wide street runs down
To the wharf at Greenwich town."
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CHAPTER 111.
There is a fine old brick house at Greenwich wharf or
near the bank of the Cohansey river; a portion of the
building is of very ancient date, it is thought to have been
built,
When the Indian brave
Steered his bark o'er the wave.
And roamed the forest at will.
The primitive part is of medium size, but additions
have been made to the original from time to time by the
different owners, and to-day stands a large brick mansion,
situated at the beginning of the "Great Street" and the
junction of the river.
There are wooden buildings attached to the house as
you go towards the wharf, that in the past have been
utilized as store and residence.
The river as in old colonial days affords easy com-
munication to Philadelphia. The Vv-riter well remembers
v/ith friends sitting on the steps of the lower house, watch-
ing and waiting for the steamer as it made its way through
l8 COLONIAL AND OLD HOUSES OF GREENWICH.
the crooked reaches of uld Cohansey; suddenly emerging
from behind a strip of woodland in full view to our longing
eyes, then entirely disappearing until the short blasts of
the whistle and the splash of the paddle wheels informed us
of its nearness to the landing.
This homestead stands on the sixteen acre lot original-
ly bought by Mark Reeve the emigrant, who came from the
mother country in the "Griffin" with John Fenwick. He
bought the lot August 9, i6S6, the second lot sold by the
executors of Fenwick, in laying out the town afterwards
called Greenwich.
Fenwick's executors were William Penn, then
Governor of Pennsylvania, John Smith, Samuel Hedge and
Richard Tyndal, the last three were each to have five
hundred acres of land for their trouble.
It has been said that Mark Reeve built the oldest part
of the present house, but there were wooden buildings upon
the lot, that have long ago passed into oblivion, and the
house that he built, and made his home for a few years, it is
quite possible was one of them. He was a man of much
ability, and became a large land owner; he purchased a
plantation in Mannington, where he resided until after
Fenwicks death. He sold the lot in 1689 to Joseph
Browne, reserving a burial lot where his wife was buried;
he then purchased a large tract of land south of
Cohansey river. His death occurred November, 1694.
Joseph Browne was a man of affluence; he was en-
TUl= SHIiPPARD HUUSH. 19
gaged in mercantile business in Philadelphia before
coming to Greenwich, and it is supposed he continued in
trade, as he owned the wharf, and a full rigged sloop
valued at £180, At his death in 171 1 his inventory in-
duced dry goods, groceries and hardware.
He left 142 ounces of silver plate valued at £64. 11 sh.
8 p. six negro slaves £220. an Indian boy £40. His prop-
erty in real estate was considerable including three houses.
After his death, his son Joseph Browne, Jun., con-
veyed the lot to Thomas Chalkley, an eminent minister
among the society of Friends, who married his mother in
1714. In 173S he sold the lot to John Butler, who sold it
to Thomas Mulford, in a short time Mulford sold it to
William Connover, and in the year 1760 he sold it to John
Sheppard; it remained in the Sheppard family until nearly
the close of the nineteenth century.
The lot is full of historic interest. A short distance
north stands the orthodox meeting house, which was
established at an early period in the settlement of the
place. Mark Reeve, William Bacon, James Duncan and
others made application for assistance to the Salem meet-
ing, to build a meeting house. The first building was a
primitive log structure; the location was chosen to ac-
commodate the Friends on both sides of the river. The
meeting increased largely in its membership, as the settlers
came, and the land taken in the region of tiie Cohansey
river. Many Quakers came to West Jersey, fleeing frorr
20 COLONIAL AND OLD HOUSES OF GREENWICH.
persecution in England, assisted by William Penn. In
after years it was deemed necessary to build the brick
meeting house, which has remained until the present time.
The old deed for the ground where the meeting house
stands, is dated December 25, 1693.
"Joseph Browne of the town of Greenwich, upon
Caesaria alias Cohansey river, Salem County, Yeoman to
Charles Bagley, for a lot fifty feet wide on the street, and
fifty-five feet long, between grantors dwelling house and
his barn, for a meeting house and grave yard of the people
in scorn called Quakers who worship God in spirit and in
truth."
Free from creed, from ceremony or ritual. Free from
tyranny, oppression or imprisonment, that followed the
adherents of George Fox in the mother country. When
the quiet Sabbath dawned upon them, they assembled in
the small meeting house, with the peaceful Cohansey on
one side of them ever flowing onward to the sea, and
God's first temples standing in their native grandeur
around and about them, to worship in spirit and in truth,
"for the Father seeketh such to worship him."
The influence of this meeting became great throughout
the country and early inthe eighteenth century was denomi-
nated the school of the prophets. There were many
minister members of Greenwich monthly meeting which
were considered eloquent in their discourse, and it is said
they were living examples of their precepts.
CHAPTER III.
iihe Sbcppav^ Mouse,
There is a iine old brick liouse at Greenwich wharf or
near the bank of the Cohansey river; a portion of the
building is of very ancient date, it is thought to have been
built,
When the Indian brave
Steered his bark o'er the wave,
And roamed the forest at will.
The primitive part is of medium size, but additions
have been made to the original from time to time by the
different owners, and to-day stands a large brick mansion,
situated at the beginning of the "Great Street" and the
junction of the river.
There are wooden buildings attached to the house as
you go towards the wharf, that in the past have been
utilized as store and residence.
The river as in old colonial days affords easy com-
munication to Philadelphia. The writer well remembers
with friends sitting on the steps of the lower house, watch-
ing and waiting for the steamer as it made its way through
l8 COLONIAL AND OLD HOUSES OF GREENWICH.
the crooked reaches of old Cohansey; suddenly emerging
from behind a strip of woodland in full view to our longing
eyes, then entirely disappearing until the short blasts of
the whistle and the splash of the paddle wheels informed us
of its nearness to the landing.
This homestead stands on the sixteen acre lot original-
ly bought by Mark Reeve the emigrant, who came from the
mother country in the "Griffm" with John Fenwick. He
bought the lot August 9, 1686, the second lot sold by the
executors of Fenwick, in laying out the town afterwards
called Greenwich.
Fenwick's executors were William Penn, then
Governor of Pennsylvania, John Smith, Samuel Hedge and
Richard Tyndal, the last three were each to have five
hundred acres of land for their trouble.
It has been said that Mark Reeve built the oldest part
of the present house, but there were wooden buildings upon
the lot, that have long ago passed into oblivion, and the
house that he built, and made his home for a few years, it is
quite possible was one of them. He was a man of much
ability, and became a large land owner; he purchased a
plantation in Mannington, where he resided until after
Fenwicks death. He sold the lot in 1689 to Joseph
Browne, reserving a burial lot where his wife was buried;
he then purchased a large tract of land south of
Cohansey river. His death occurred November, 1694.
Joseph Browne was a man of affluence; he was en-
TIIl£ SHEPPARD IIOUSIZ. 19
gaged in mercantile business in Philadelphia before
coming to Greenwich, and it is supposed he continued in
trade, as he owned the wharf, and a full rigged sloop
valued at £180. At his deatii in 1711 his inventory in-
duced dry goods, groceries and hardware.
He left 142 ounces of silver plate valued at £64. 11 sh.
8 p. six negro slaves £220. an Indian boy £40. His prop-
erty in real estate was considerable including three houses.
After his death, his son Joseph Browne, Jun., con-
veyed the lot to Thomas Chalkley, an eminent minister
among the society of Friends, who married liis mother in
1 7 14. In 1738 he sold the lot to John Butler, who sold it
to Thomas Mulford, in a short time Mulford sold it to
William Connover, and in the year 1760 he sold it to John
Sheppard; it remained in the Sheppard family until nearly
the close of tiie nineteenth century.
The lot is full of historic interest. A short distance
north stands the orthodox meeting house, which was
established at an early period in the settlement of the
place. Mark Reeve, William Bacon, James Duncan and
others made application for assistance to the Salem meet-
ing, to build a meeting house. The first building vvas a
primitive log structure; the location was chosen to ac-
commodate the Friends on both sides of the river. The
meeting increased largely in its membership, as the settlers
came, and the land taken in the region of the Cohansey
river. Many Quakers came to West Jersey, fleeing fronr
20 COLONIAL AND OLD HOUSES OF GF^EENVVICH.
persecution in England, assisted by William Penn. In
after years it was deemed necessary to build the brick
meeting house, which has remained until the present time.
The old deed for the ground where the meeting house
stands, is dated December 25, 1693.
"Joseph Browne of the town of Greenwich, upon
Ciesaria alias Cohansey river, Salem County, Yeoman to
Charles Bagley, for a lot fifty feet wide on the street, and
fifty-five feet long, between grantors dwelling house and
his barn, for a meeting house and grave yard of the people
in scorn called Quakers who worship God in spirit and in
truth."
Free from creed, from ceremony or ritual. Free from
tyranny, oppression or imprisonment, that followed the
adherents of George Fox in the mother country. When
the quiet Sabbath dawned upon them, they assembled in
the small meeting house, with the peaceful Cohansey on
one side of them ever flowing onward to the sea, and
God's first temples standing in their native grandeur
around and about them, to worship in spirit and in truth,
"for the Father seeketh such to worship him."
The influence of this meeting became great throughout
the country and early inthe eighteenth century was denomi-
nated the school of the prophets. There were many
minister members of Greenwich monthly meeting which
were considered eloquent in their discourse, and it is said
they were living examples of their precepts.
THE SHEPPARD HOUSE. 21
Mark, John and Benjamin Reeve, grandsons of Mark
Reeve, were recommended ministers of the Greenwich
Monthly Meeting, as also, was the noted James Daniels,
who travelled not only in this country, but England and
Ireland in the ministry.
Thomas Chalkley who for more than forty years,
travelled and preached among the Friends, occasionally
visited Greenwich and held meetings there; in 1724 he was
accompanied by Thomas Lightfoot and Benjamin Kid who
spoke to the people.
In his journal of 1726 he mentions the malignant dis-
temper which had prevailed at Cohansie, from which more
than seventy persons had died; he continued his visits un-
til the infirmities of age prevented, having as travelling
companions James Lord, John Evans, Elizabeth Stephens
and others who assisted him in his labors.
In later years there were eminent men who were
habitual in their attendance at the Greenwich Meeting,
among the most prominent were Clarkson Sheppard the
son of John and Mary Sheppard, who was an esteemed
minister of the society of Friends, and Dr. George
B. Wood, whose marble bust graces the Library of
the University of Pennsylvania, with an inscription be-
neath that tells of his great life work in the study of
Materia Medica for the benefit of humanity. Dr. Wood was
rorn in Greenwich and in his youth, and in after years when
besiding at his summer residence, was a regular attendant
22 COLONIAL AND OLD HOUSES OF GREENWICH.
at the Greenwich Meeting.
To-day the meeting house is seldom used for a gather-
ing, but it stands as a memory of the past,
"When ancient farmers with their dames.
Maidens with quaint, pleasing names;
Pallid cheek and cheek of rose
Smooth alike in calm repose;
Tresses braided shyly down
Over eyes of clearest brown, —
Broad brimmed hats, and bonnets gray
'Neath the branches trod their way
To this meeting house that stands
Overlooking fertile lands."
The old homestead was in the possession of the
Sheppard family for more than a century; the Sheppards
settled in old Cohansey at an early date and became very
numerous. It is said there were four brothers, David,
Thomas, John and James, who came to America from
Tipperary, Ireland.
They resided in Shrewsbury, East Jersey for a time;
about 1683 they settled south of the Cohansey River,
formerly called Shrewsbury Neck.
it is thought the name Sheppard implies that they
were of English descent.
John Sheppard was a descendant of Thomas Sheppard
the emigrant; he was a prominent member of the Cohansey
Meeting; his descendants were numerous, and the last
THE SHEPPARD HOUSE. . 23
lineal descendant that occupied the homestead was Philip
Garrett Sheppard who died in the last decade of the nine-
teenth century; he was buried in the enclosed Sheppard
burial ground back of the old meeting house. Philip's
mother's maiden name was Margaret Garrett and she be-
longed to one of the oldest English families that first settled
in Pennsylvania; their forefather came in the vessel with
William Penn and landed at Chester in 1682.
After the death of Philip G. Sheppard, the property
was again sold. At this period of the twentieth century,
the house and sixteen acre lot are in the possession of
Isaac Ridgeway; who with his wife, a model for good
housekeeping, make the old homestead an ideal residence.
in the roomy interior the modern furnishings blend har-
moniously with the corner cupboard, narrow casement or
broad door, that are reminders of its antiquity, and add
much to its attractiveness.
In front of the house are ample grounds with fine views
of "Old Cohansey River" with its tidal ebb and flow,
winding through its reedy shores and marshes on its way
to the Delaware.
A road from the "Great Street" passes by the front
of the house through the grounds to the landing, where in
olden time a ferry crossed the river conveying travel-
lers and teams. Many crossed to attend the Quaker
Meeting and the Presbyterian Church at the head of
Greenwich.
24 COLONIAL AND OLD HOUSES OF GREENWICH.
It is said the son of Rev. Daniel Elmer passed by the
Fairfield Church, where his father was pastor, crossed the
river and attended Rev. Andrew Hunter's church as he
favored the "New Lights."
It was at this landing December 1774, the brig Grey-
hound under command of Captain Allen, with a cargo of
tea, destined for Philadelphia, anchored. Fearing some
opposition, he had the tea stealthily conveyed and stored in
the cellar of Dan Bowen's house, near the open market-
square. On the evening of December 22, it was taken
out and burned by some of the patriotic citizens of Cum-
berland County, disguised as Indians.
In the summer of 1748 when the French and Spanish
privateers, after capturing our vessels, entered Dela-
ware Bay, came up along the Jersey side, placed twenty-
seven prisoners in a boat and landed them at Cohansey.
CHAPTER IV.
Bacon'0 adventure.
In the vicinity of Bacon's Neck, we find houses dating
back one hundred years, and a few still standing that were
built in colonial days.
These necks of land lying south and west of the
village of Greenwich, between the town and river, are
divided into farms; most of them are fertile and productive.
They are bordered by the marshes of the river. The
marshes yield a fine salt hay, which is cut and stacked
by the energetic farmer in August or September, then later
drawn to the farms, and used as a fodder and fertilizer,
making the soil rich and productive when used freely, hi
February and March the stubble of the marshes is burned
all along the shore, in order to make a better yield of hay
the coming season. The fires can be seen many miles, as
they lighten the horizon, they have been called storm
lights in Pittsgrove and northern townships; as the air be-
comes smoky and is followed by copious rains.
A ride is charming through the made roads of the
marshes in May or June when the grass takes on its rich
26 COLONIAL AND OLD HOUSES OF GREENWICH.
velvety shade of green, waving softly in the summer
breeze, and stretching along the margin of the river, as far
as the eye can see, with nothing to break the green sward
but the small streams flowing through.
Samuel Bacon, a Quaker and a seaman of East Wood-
bridge, New Jersey, was the first settler in Bacon's Neck.
He bought of John Adams and wife Elizabeth (a daughter
of John Fenwick) two hundred and sixty acres, November
22, 1682. He became a large land owner along the
Cohansey River, and the neck still bears his name. The
early settler like the Indian settled along the sea coast
and the shores of navigable rivers.
Samuel Bacon later bought of "Shawkamum and
Ethoe, Indian proprietors of the land called Ca-ta-nan-gut,
near Cohansey or Delaware River, 400 acres, between a
fast landing on Cohansey Creek called Young's Neck, and
hereafter Bacon's Adventure. The deed dated June 25:
1683."
The consideration for the 400 acres conveyed to the
Indians was "two coats of Dussols, three blankets, two hand-
fuls of powder, six bars of lead, two shirts, two knives, two
pairs of stockings, two looking glasses, two hoes, two axes,
two needles, two awls, one gun, one gilder in wampum and
two pairs of scissors."
The deed is made of stiff parchment bearing the
mark of the Indians; the seals being of leather, with red
sealing wax attached.
BACON'S ADVENTURE. 27
In 1Q05 a farm on the Bacon tract being sold by one of
the lineal descendants of Samuel Bacon, the antiquated
deed was brought to light in the transfer of property.
We learn in 1688 he added 360 acres to his possessions,
adjoining George Haslewood and Elinor Lewis, (a spinster),
on the north side of C^esaria alias Cohansey River. He
gave William Bacon, a planter of the same place, 100
acres, a part of the 360 acres he bought of John Adams,
May 21, 1688.
The forests of centuries growth were waiting for the
pioneer's axe, to change the lofty tree to man's uses.
The sturdy Bacon made use of the natural resources to
develop his primitive home and farm; making peaceful
deals with the Indians, who left their native haunts with
reluctance, but were so attracted with the white man's ap-
parel and implements, they were willing to barter their
lands to possess them.
He not only cleared the land for his interest, but for
those that followed him. Time like an ever rolling stream
bears each generation away. They leave their impress
upon wood and stone, they have wrought into abodes,
which are voices of the past to living generations.
Samuel Bacon's first home must have been a log
dwelling, as it was the first house constructed in a wooded
country. The descendants of the settler built more
substantially and later a large brick house was built
on the tract, having servant's quarters; the brick was made
28 COLONIAL AND OLD HOUSES OF GREENWICH.
from clay on the place.
An incident that occurred at this place during the
Revolutionary war, has been handed down from generation
to generation. When the British held possession of Phila-
delphia, they sent their soldiers into the Delaware and its
tributaries, to weaken the American military stations, and
invade along the shores.
One day an old servant of the Bacon family called
Peggy, saw the British landing a short distance from the
home. She gave the alarm that the "Red Coats" were
coming. Phebe Bacon the daughter, took the baby
William from the cradle and ran to Gross's hill, near
Roadstown, where she met her parents and returned with
them.
They were gone when they arrived, had committed no
depredations, only had taken some cattle and returned to
their boats.
We give an extract of a letter from an American
Officer in Cumberland County, West New Jersey, May 6,
1776.
"This serves to inform you of an alarm we had about
eleven o'clock this day, of a party of regulars, landing on
Tindall's Island in Bacon's Neck, about four miles from
Greenwich; supposed to be about thirty in number; shoot-
ing down the cattle, taking them on board, etc., whereup-
on I called the militia together as soon as possible, and
upon our appearance, a gun was fired from on board one of
BACON'S ADVENTURE. 29
the vessels, for them to repair on board, which they did
with the greatest precipitation. Our men pursued so close-
ly that we were near taking three of them prisoners, one of
whom left an excellent musket behind which we got with
some cartridges.
They hollowed to our men to go on board the King
Fisher, and they would pay for the beef, it is supposed
they took off between 20 and 30 head of cattle, 5 they left
dead on the shore, and wounded many others, which with
all the others we have drove from the water side. They
have taken this morning a shallop belonging to Daniel
Richards, bound from Philadelphia to Morris river, but the
hands escaped to shore." — "Pennsylvania Journal and
Weekly Advertiser. May 8, 1776."
This colonial house on the Bacon tract was destroyed
by fire, at the time of the civil war. When the house was
burned it was in the possession of James H. Bacon, a
descendant of Samuel Bacon in a continuous line. Mr.
James Bacon was a man of culture and refinement; a
faithful member and supporter of the Greenwich Presby-
terian Church, acting officially as elder for many years; he
also ably filled the position of chorister until failing health
caused his resignation. His son, Henry Bacon, at the
present time owns a part of Bacon's Adventure, and re-
sides near the site of the colonial house.
From the second story windows of his residence can be
seen
30 COLONIAL AND OLD HOUSES OF GREENWICH.
"Many a sail of sunlit snow,
Bearing its precious cargo through
The far distant shimmering blue."
There was an old family burying ground on the farm,
a few stones have been preserved.
A half mile or so east of Henry Bacon's home stands a
house, a century old and more. It was occupied by
William Bacon and his descendants, the higher part was
added to the lower in 1812.
A few miles south of the Bacon farm is the Hall home-
stead. A large brick house with the date 1785 and the
initials of the builder, "G. S. D." on the exterior.
The brick in building was burned on the farm, and
the walls are said to be fifteen inches thick; a quart of
apple jack was placed in the walls while in construction.
We are told that one of the hod carriers was so strong
he carried ninety bricks at a time in building the house-
equivalent to 450 lbs.
The interior is spacious, with large airy rooms, high
ceilings, high mantels over large fireplaces; suspended over
one of the mantels is a large powder horn, with the date
of 1787 upon it, having a small horn measure attached.
The present owner knows little of its history, but it is
thought to have been a horn from one of the cattle raised
upon the place, and preserved in that form. A large
mahogany sideboard built in the parlor is an interesting
feature of the room, having a shelf that can be drawn for
BACON'S ADVENTURE. 3 1
the decanter and glasses, as was the custom in those daj's
to pass a stimulating cordial to the visitor, or at social
gatherings.
This mansion was built by Gabriel S. Davis who
married Sarah, the daughter of Ebenezer Miller, Sr. His
father owned a large tract of excellent land in Bacon's
Neck, and he became heir to his father's possessions.
They were distinguished members of the Greenwich
Quaker Meeting.
Gabriel Davis was a very benevolent man. He fre-
quently assisted young men of little means to start in
business, and was a blessing to the poor and needy around
him.
In his will he devised the greater part of his landed
estate to his nephew, Ebenezer Hall. The homestead and
farm are still in the possession of one of his descendants,
John H. Hall.
Across the fields fronting the Hall homestead and fac-
ing the Central Railroad stands another brick residence,
very similar in construction to the other houses in Bacon's
Neck, built one hundred years ago or more. A lower
and a higher part, with an entrance from the street from both
parts, in the lower part was the large living room, sitting
room, dining room and kitchen combined. On the first
floor of the higher part was the sacred parlor, which con-
tained the best furnishings of the household, rarely
opened — only on state occasions, and to the casual visitor.
32 COLONIAL AND OLD HOUSES OF GREENWICH.
Our grandparents when they visited relatives or
friends, arrived at an early hour in the afternoon, and the
women always carried their sewing or knitting; and the
garment was being made or the stocking grew, as they
chatted and visited. Usually on the second floor over the
parlor was the spare chamber, dedicated to visitors. This
room contained the four post bedstead with its snowy
canopy, decorated with hanging fringes. Over the huge
feather bed, made of the softest downy goose feathers,
were spread the home spun linen sheets and woolen
blankets, then a patchwork bedquilt made in designs of ex-
quisite needle work. The lower part of the bed was
covered around with a valance.
The last mentioned house is known as the Sheppard
homestead, but was built by a man by the name of Bacon,
and was the birthplace of Daniel Maskell Sheppard, who
was a former merchant and townsman of the village of
Greenwich. He was a descendant of John Sheppard, the
emigrant. His grandmother was Hannah Maskell, a
descendant of Thomas Maskell, who was one of the grant-
ors of the site for the Greenwich Presbyterian Church.
Mr. Sheppard was a man of sterling integrity and a faithful
attendant and liberal supporter of the church that was
founded by his ancestor. At the time of his death he
was one of the largest land owners in Greenwich town-
ship, and was universally respected and mourned. His
tenants found in him a sympathizing friend, as desirous
BACON'S ADVENTURE. 33
of promoting their interests as liis own.
A short distance south from the Sheppard home is a
rough cast house. It was known originally as the Brown
homestead. A portion of it dates back to colonial days,
and was built by Jonathan Brown, of whom there are no
descendants in Greenwich township at the present time.
About a half mile south of the Hall homestead, nearer
Bayside, stands the old colonial, gambrel roofed Dennis
house. It was built by Philip Dennis. He is supposed to
have been the son of Jonathan Dennis, who died in 1720,
having three sons, Philip, Charles and Samuel. Philip and
Hannah Dennis owned large tracts of land in Bacon's
Neck. Philip's Creek bears his name.
An oven still remains in this house that baked many
loaves of bread for the Revolutionary soldiers. Philip
Dennis afterward moved to Greenwich, where he built a
stone plastered house, off of the Main Street, on the road
to Bacon's Neck. It is now owned and occupied by the
heirs of Smith Tomlinson. On the west side of the build-
ing are the initials "P. H. D. 1765." This house has been
so well preserved and cared for by the owners, that its an-
tiquity is not apparent to the casual observer.
Westerly from the Hall homestead we find another
brick mansion, apparently located near the centre
of a tract of 296 acres. The building of the house dates
back to 1800. Its capacious rooms, large windows and
doors with brass knockers are suggestive of colonial
34 COLONIAL AND OLD HOUSES OF GREENWICH.
days. The kitchen of the house is very large. We were
told that in the olden time, the oxen used on the farm were
trained to enter the kitchen and draw the back log to the
fireplace.
The house with English Ivy clinging to its walls is
charmingly situated, almost environed by grand and lofty
trees. A pleasing landscape fronting the homestead, ex-
tends many miles, dotted here and there with a farm
house, a tall cedar or a sycamore.
The western boundary of the tract is a strip of
woodland, where the Oak and Pine their branches en-
twine, and the Maple hangs its corals in the spring, and
the leaf of the Christmas Holly grows to perfection, as
its habitat is the sea coast. In the open fields near the
woodland is an aged tree, in whose branches the fish
hawks have built a large nest, where they have reared
their young for many years.
From this home there are fine views of the blue
waters of the bay, and you can catch many a gleam of
the snowy sails, and sometimes see the smoke stack of
an ocean steamer whose destination is a port on a
foreign shore.
The building of the house was commenced by a man
whose name was Sheppard; having died before com-
pletion, it was bought and finished by Mrs. Mary White.
Her maiden name was Thompson. She first married
Thomas Sheppard. Her second husband was Samuel
BACON'S ADVENTURE. 35
Silvers. Their son Tliomas Silvers was an inventor; liis
most noted invention was a steam governor. Her third
husband was William White. There is a romance said to
be connected with Mrs. White in Revolutionary days.
When the soldiers marched on Greenwich street, they
were much admired by the village maidens, and some of
them laughingly selected their husbands; she is said to
have married her selection.
There was a wharf on the place where vessels landed
some of the material for building. The farm for a long
time was in possession of the Harmers. At present is
owned by Morris Goodwin whose wife is a daughter of
Mark Harmer, the former owner.
As we take the main road and go south again, past the
Bacon Neck school house, we soon enter Tappan's Lane.
Jacob Tappan early settled in Bacon's Neck; evidently
the lane was named from him or his descendants.
We can see from this locality two colonial houses in
what was formerly called "Seventh Day Lane," the ywere
built by some of the early Sheppards, probably David, and
some time in the last hundred years have been owned and
occupied by men by the name of Caleb Sheppard.
The well known resident of Shiloh, Caleb Henry
Sheppard is a descendant of one of these families.
They were Sabbatarians and regular attendants of the
.Seventh Day Baptist Church in the village of Shiloh.
The house nearest the bay was built to face the water,
36 COLONIAL AND OLD HOUSES OF GREENWICH.
and is owned by Franklin Maul, an extensive land owner,
and resident of the village of Greenwich. The other is
in the possession of Edwin Glaspell.
There are trees with aged boughs slowly decaying on
the Bacon tract; some are used for landmarks, and are
thought to have belonged to the original forest when John
Fenwick settled along the Delaware and its tributaries.
Fenwick purchased the land while in England, and was
a legal owner, but policy and a sense of justice incited him
to make compensation to the native Indians.
in 1675 seventh day and ninth month he made a deal
with old King Mohawskey and his chiefs: "Myopponey,
Alowayes, Saccutorey, Neconis, and his mother Necco-
ssheseo, Monnutt and other Indians, for the land along
Game or Forcus Creek, (now Salem), Delaware River."
Then we find he made another deal with old "King
Mohawskey and other Indians, 1675, sixth day of twelfth
month for the land called. Little and Great Cohansick
along Delaware River, between the mouth of Cannahocink
Creek, and Weehatquack Creek, next to Cohansey
River, which a part of the land in 1683 became "Bacon's
Adventure."
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CHAPTER V.
Ehe ®l^ Stone Itavcrn.
In the colonies the tavern, wayside inn or ordinare,
as sometimes called was an institution of much importance.
Not only were they for the entertainment of the traveller,
or a stopping place for the stage coach to change horses
and continue their long tiresome journeys, but they seemed
to be a necessity to the old time villages.
They were news depots, where it was the custom of
the men to meet and discuss the latest news of country, city
or village.
The landlord was usually the most popular man of
the village and supposed to be the best informed.
In far famed old New England with its granite hills,
at one time the tavern was erected near the meeting house
and served as a noon or "Sabba-day house." The noon
house was sometimes attached to the meeting house where
the congregations gathered between services for warmth
and to partake of their noontide lunch, if the tavern was
near the meeting house our Puritan forefathers and mothers
after enduring the icy cold of a wintry day, at the conclu-
40 COLONIAL AND OLD HOUSES OF GREENWICH.
sion of the morning service, which usually consisted of
painfully long prayers, sermons and psalm singing, were
glad to repair to the tavern where they found warmth and
cheer. The women often carried foot stoves, but the coals
of fire they contained seldom lasted until the conclusion of
the service.
At the tavern they partook of their refreshment with
more comfortable surroundings in preparation for the after-
noon meeting. Sometimes the landlord of the establish-
ment was a Deacon of the meeting house. The clergy of
that remote period, and all the people sipped the popular
toddy, punch or flip, and the New England rum was in-
dispensable in every family, although a drunkard was con-
demned and considered as reprehensible as at the present
time. "At an ministers ordination in New England in 1785
eighty persons attending the morning service drank thirty
large bowls of punch before going to meeting, and during
the entire day, there were seventy-four bowls of punch,
eighteen bottles of wine, eight of brandy, and a quantity of
cherry rum drank by the people in attendance." Many of
the descendants of these sturdy New Englanders settled in
"Old Cohansey," and a goodly number in Greenwich,
and naturally brought their customs with them.
In the old Stone Tavern on the main street of the
village, almost directly facing the lower road to Bacon's
Neck, in colonial days, could be found these old popular
beverages.
THE OLD STONE TAVERN. 4I
Punch was sweetened liquors prepared with many
flavors, and was served in large bowls, some of the bowls
are still preserved by the residents of the village. Toddy
was made of sweetened liquors and hot water and was
served in large tumblers.
The ingredients of flip were home brewed ale, sugar
and Jamaica rum. It was usually heated with an iron
stick, called a loggerhead, which was placed in the live
coals, until it became red hot, then thrust into the mixture,
making it boil and seethe, and giving it a burnt, bitter
taste, which was considered palatable; then a mug of flip
was ready for the thirsty traveller or flip lover, it was
usually served in a pewter mug. Metheglin was another
of those old time popular drinks, which consisted of a
mixture of sugar and honey.
In Salem, New Jersey, in 1729, the tavern prices for
liquors was regulated by the court as follows:
A rub of punch made with double refined sugar and
one and a half gills of rum, gd.
A rub of punch made with single refined sugar and
one and a half gills of rum, 8d.
A rub made of Muscovado sugar and one and a half
gills of rum, yd.
A quart of flip made of a pint of rum, - - gd.
A pint of wine, ish.
A gill of rum, - 3d.
A quart of strong beer, 4d,
42 COLONIAL AND OLD HOUSES OF GREENWICH.
A gill of brandy or cordial, .... 6d.
A quart of metheglin, 9d.
A quart of cider royal, 8d.
A quart of cider, 4d.
One gill of rum, ------ 3d.
A gill of brandy or cordial, .... gj,
A pint of wine, .._... ish.
Most of these drinks originated in India, and were
brought to this country. The wisdom of the present age
denounce these insinuating beverages, which, though
pleasant to the taste, the after effects prove more harmful
than beneficial; thus verifying the scriptural text "Wine is
a mocker, strong drink is raging, and whosoever is deceived
thereby is not wise."
The old Stone Tavern is another building in the village
that belongs to the remote past, it is not in ruins nor in
a dilapidated condition, but has been remarkably preserved
considering its great age. It has long since been abandoned
in its use as a tavern, and in these latter days, is used as a
residence.
The quaint old tap room with its verandah in front,
remains much the same as it did when the weary, way-
worn horseback traveller from Salem or the country
thereabouts, with wife pillioned on the back of the saddle,
found rest and refreshment, before crossing the ferry
on their journey to New England town; or the Revo-
lutionary officer, or soldier assuaged his thirst, as the
THE OLD STONE TAVERN. 43
militia after the drill, gathered within and around its walls.
Many of "Old Cohanseys" brave and noble sons
enlisted in the Revolutionary war and filled every position,
on land and sea, from brigadier general to private. Time
like distance displays to us their true value, as they
left the plow and home, to sacrifice their health and lives
for patriotism.
They were tired of the arbitrary acts of the mother
country, to them it was liberty or death. If they escaped
the cannon ball in battle, they came home with camp fever
or some disease that sent them to a premature grave.
As we enter the old cemetery of Greenwich, and
others of West Jersey, where these immortal heroes have
slept for many years — comrade side by side — many of them
having no stone to mark their place of burial, we feel we
are treading on sacred ground; and hope the time will come
when monurrents will be erected with inscriptions, that
shall tell future generations where sleep our heroes who
assisted in delivering us from English tyranny, and gave us
our own Columbia
"The queen of the world
And the child of the skies."
We find recorded that Jeremiah Bacon, an inn holder,
bought a sixteen acre lot adjoining Edward Hurlburt,
June ist; 1696.
The courts were held in Greenwich four times a year,
appointed by Governor Belcher. They were held in the
44 COLONIAL AND OLD HOUSES OF GREENWICH.
Presbyterian Church and the tavern.
At the March term of court in 1716 the granting of
Hcense began, they were granted to Jacob Ware in Green-
wich, 1728, 1729, 1741, 1742; VViUiam Watson 1733 — 1742;
James Canuthers 1737 — 1739; John Foster, 1737; Fitz Ran-
dolph 1739; John Butler 1741 — 1742.
These figures give evidence that there was more than
one hostelry in Greenwich.
John Butler is said to have kept a tavern at the wharf
as he owned the property at one time.
The old stone plastered house now in possession of
Jeremiah Jones on the opposite side of the street from his
residence at North Greenwich, dates back to colonial days
and was used as a tavern at one period of its history. It
was built by Samuel Ewing, and at one time owned by
George Githens, which gave it the name of the "Githens
place."
It is said in 1748 when the court convened in the old
stone tavern the last time before taken to Cohansey
Bridge, the opposing party gave vent to their disapproval
by kicking their chairs and glasses and a general riot en-
sued.
Beckly Carl was landlord of the tavern it is thought
previous to Charles Davis, who was proprietor about one
hundred years ago. He was father of Edmund Davis who
was the popular landlord of Davis' Hotel in Bridgeton for a
number of years.
THE OLD STONE TAVERN. 45
Then later John Miller became a landlord for a time,
of whom Captain Charles Miller a townsman of the village
is a descendant.
These later years the building is in the possession of
the Wood family of Philadelphia. it was owned by Dr.
George B. Wood, whose handsome brick residence is on
the west side of the street. The old Wood homestead is
on the same side of the street farther south; a low gambrel
roofed house, near the residence of Captain Charles Miller.
The Woods were numerous and highly respected
citizens of the village; Richard Wood the second of that
name, was a cooper by trade. He was the grandfather of
Dr. George B. Wood and lived in the old homestead.
In later years the Wood house was occupied by a man
named May, who was considered by the villagers a great
pedestrian, walking to Bridgeton every morning, where he
was working and returning in the evening, and occasion-
ally walking to Philadelphia, he is remembered by some of
the oldest residents.
CHAPTER VI.
Zbc JTitbtan IHouec*
There are three roads from the main street of Green-
wich to Sheppard's Mills, as they were formerly called;
they are usually known throughout the county by the
name of the owner. About half way to the mills, back
from the middle road is an old unpretentious house; ap-
proached from the road by a long lane. If the age of the
place could be determined by two colosal sycamores that
shade the house, we would say it was centuries old; they
are like two hugh sentinels, with immense trunks and wide
spreading branches, guarding the old house.
There were originally three of them but one was
destroyed by lightning many years ago. The tree
receiving the bolt probably saved the house from de-
struction.
The architecture of the house is similar to the others
already described built in the days of the colonies; the
living rooms are on the ground floor, with a few steps
leading to the higher part.
This place is of great interest to many as it was the
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THE FITHIAN HOUSE 49
home of Philip Vicar Fithian. He was born December 29,
1747. It is supposed in the original part of the structure
which still remains, he first opened his eyes to the dawn
of day, and began to grow; and as he grew to years of un-
derstanding, he began to imbibe the religious training of
his devoted and pious mother; she prayerfully taught him
the Holy Scriptures and planted within his bosom the seeds
of holiness, which afterwards blossomed bright and verna'
in his daily walk of life.
As Philip advanced in years he began his school life
in Greenwich — possible at the old Quaker stone school
house which was within walking distance of his home.
This school building was torn down about fifty years ago,
because of its great age and wornout condition. It stood
near the Quaker burying ground and was enclosed by a
rail fence; the entrance was by stile.
A new frame school building was erected on the site
of the old one but as Quakerism began to decline in the
village, and the new public school building was built on the
opposite side of the street; a Quaicer school could not be
supported and the school house was changed into a
residence.
About a half a mile farther north stands an old stone
school house which has outlived its usefulness as a school
building and is called the Town Hall, as it is solely used for
town purposes.
It was located near the old Mulford residence, which
50 COLONIAL AND OLD HOUSES OF GREENWICH.
was destroyed by lightning a few years ago.
The building was commenced in 1810 and it is said the
militia of the War of 1812, assembled within its walls and
drilled on the grounds, before it was fully equipped as a
school house.
As Philip grew into young manhood, he became very
studious, and began to enshrine the golden passing hour,
by transmitting his thoughts and deeds, and the most im-
portant events to paper, keeping a daily journal, which
became characteristic through the remainder of his short
life. Its preservation has been of intrinsic value in un-
locking the history of the past.
In his twentieth year he began studying Latin under
the tuition of Rev. Enoch Green, of Deerfield. Under
his instruction and that of Rev. Andrew Hunter— with
whom he was a general favorite— he prepared for col-
lege. He graduated from the College of New Jersey in
1772. At Princeton he frequently met Miss Elizabeth
Beatty, who was the fairest of women to Philip; whom he
afterward married; whose acquaintance he had formed at
the old brick parsonage at Deerfield, where she frequently
visited her sister, Mrs. Green.
Soon after graduation he secured a position as tutor in
the family of Colonel Robert Carter, an aristocratic gentle-
man of Westmoreland County, Virginia, who was a large
land owner and lived in a style approaching the grandeur
of the mother country; he creditably filled the position for
THE FlTHiAN HOUSE 5 1
more than a year.
As we read his journal, we get flashlights of the real
man, and his ideals; the ideal is the mysterious ladder that
enables the soul to attain greater heights and take a
stronger hold of the Infinite; for the true and absolute ideal
is God.
He had a clear Christ vision for the redemption of the
world and his desire was to preach the gospel, and presents
himself to the Presbytery for examination for the ministry
in 1773. In his journal he introduces us to many of the
old inhabitants, and unconsciously displays his gallantry as
he assists the Boyd and Ewing girls and others of his ac-
quaintance to alight in the saddle; he speaks of Amy
Ewing's marriage to Robert Pattison who afterward became
celebrated in affairs of state and country.
He describes the sudden tempest accompanied with
lightning and thunder after a long drought; and v/e who are
natives of the old town and have passed through so many
similar gusts of wind and storm, find his descriptions very
real and can almost feel the sting of that pestiferous insect,
the mosquito, as swarms gather around him as he crosses
the ferry to attend the ordination of Mr. Holinshead, at the
Fairfield Church.
He was licensed by the Presbytery of Philadelphia,
December 6, 1774, and supplied the vacancies of West Jer-
sey during the winter. He also served as a missionary on
the Pennsylvania frontier.
52 COLONIAL AND OLD HOUSES OF GREENWICH.
He was married to Elizabeth Beatty, October 25, I775-
In 1776 he was appointed chaplain in the Revolution-
ary Army. After some months of service he fell a victim
to dysentery, brought on by exposure in camp, and died
October 8, 1776.
The Fithians are one of the oldest families of Cumber-
land County. They are of English descent. William
Fithian, the first person in this country by that name,
settled in East Hampton, Long Island, in 1640. He had
two sons, Enoch and Samuel. Josiah, the second son of
Samuel, settled in Greenwich. He married Sarah Dennis,
November 7, 1706, a daughter of Philip Dennis the Quaker
preacher. Their sixth son, Joseph, married Hannah
Vickers. Philip Vickers Fithian was Joseph and Hannah's
eldest son.
At the death of his parents who died in a few days of
each other, Philip inherited the farm and home.
There is in possession of Mrs. Mary A. Mulford, of
Bridgeton, New Jersey, a deed of transmission, made in
1788, from Joel Fithian and Elizabeth, his wife, to Amos
Fithian, and the deed states this land became the property
of Elizabeth Fithian, the present wife of Joel Fithian, by
the will of Philip V. Fithan, dated July 2, 1776, and Philip
received it as heir at law by his father, Joseph Fithian.
Elizabeth Beatty Fithian, the widow of Philip V.
Fithian, married his cousin, Joel, and their youngest son
was Dr. Enoch B. Fithian, the centenarian of Green-
THE FITHIAN HOUSE 53
wich. Their eldest son, Charles Beatty Fithian, was a
Hfe long resident of the village. His well preserved old
homestead is on the main street, south of the public school
house at the turn of the road. Two of his children are still
living; Mr. Samuel R. Fithian and Mrs. Emily Fithian
Lawrence.
The place was bought in 1812 by James Flannigan,
the father of Mrs. Mulford, who, with a sister residing in
Bridgeton, was born in the old homestead. When pur-
chased by Mr. Flannigan, the house was considered old,
with large chimneys and all the old time arrangements;
they made alterations, but parts of the house remain the
same as in revolutionary times.
Samuel R. Fithian, a nonegenarian, says there has
been no apparent change in the house since he was a boy.
Then the old house is historic.
We have been informed by the late Mary C. Fithian,
that her uncle repeatedly told her and others, that those
brave young men, who asserted the spirit of independence,
before it was declared by the colonies in 1776, by their
action in destroying the tea of the East India Company,
stored at Greenwich, met at Philip Vickers Fithian's home
on the evening of December 22, 1774, to make their final
arrangements.
The young patriots from Cohansey Bridge, Fairfield
and elsewhere, meeting at the Howell homestead near
Shiloh, joined the Greenwich party at the Fithian home.
54 COLONIAL AND OLD HOUSES OF GREENWICH.
which was environed by field and forest and sufficiently
retired to prevent their plans from being known to the
villagers, to whom the burning of the tea that eventful
night, came as a surprise.
It is said upwards of forty participated in this daring
deed. Their names are not all known, but those who are,
were mostly past their majority and members of families
of influence and standing.
The following list has been preserved:
Ebenezer Elmer, James B. Hunt, David Pierson,
Timothy Elmer, John Hunt, Stephen Pierson,
James Ewing, Andrew Hunter, Jr. Henry Seeley,
Thomas Ewing, Joel Miller, Josiah Seeley,
Joel Fithian, Alexander Moore, Jr. Abraham Sheppard,
Philip V. Fithian, Ephriam Newcomb, Henry Stacks,
Lewis Howell, Silas Newcomb, Silas Whittaker.
Richard Howell, Clarence Parvin,
CHAPTER VII.
^bc Mar^ Mouse.
There is an old colonial house at the head of Green-
wich, north of the Presbyterian Church. The larger part
remains, while the lower part had so changed in the lapse
of time, that it has been torn down and is in ruins.
It has long been known as the home of the eminent
centenarian, Dr. Enoch B. Fithian. The house is a room)^
wooden structure, but in style was built similar to the old
brick houses in Cumberland County. There were two
front doors facing the street; the path from the gate led
to the door that entered the sitting room, where you
usually found the aged Doctor, ever ready to extend a
hand of welcome to relative, friend, neighbor or whoever
chanced to call. A few steps from the sitting room ad-
mitted you to the hall, where there was an entrance to the
large parlor; back of the parlor, two rooms, the doctor's
medical office and bedroom; a front entrance in the hall,
and a stairway leading to the floor above.
Adjoining the sitting room, was a large shed with a
brick floor, from which you entered a stone kitchen at the
56 COLONIAL AND OLD HOUSES OF GREENWICH.
rear of the house, hi front of the house stand two tall
stately sycamore trees of many years growth.
Having a personal conversation with the late Dr.
Fithian regarding the house, he said it was built by Dr.
Samuel Ward. In reviewing the pages of history, we learn
that Dr. Ward was born in the State of Connecticut, in the
year 1736. He commenced the practice of medicine in
Greenwich, about the year 1760, so conclude the house
was built about that time. He was a man of greater in-
telligence than the physicians who preceded him. His skill
Courtesy of the Bridgeton Pioneer.
THE WARD HOUSE.
THE WARD HOUSE 57
as a surgeon made a favorable impression upon the citizens
and he soon became the established physician of the
community.
He was an ardent lover of his country, sometimes
writing and publishing papers regarding the political
agitations of the time. He possessed the qualification of a
gentleman and it was said of him, he was the real Christian.
The purport of these words are ever the key note to a har-
monious and successful life. His practice became extensive
and his exposure to the elements traveling altogether by
horseback is thought shortened his days. A short walk
from the old house takes you to the cemetery where a
massive tablet has been erected over his remains with the
following inscription:
Memorial
of
Samuel Ward,
Who departed this life
February 27, 1774,
In the 38 year of his age.
This inscription
Is a small tribute to the memory of
The once humane, generous and just,
The uniform friend,
The tender husband,
The assiduous and successful physician,
The lover of his country,
and the
Real Christian.
The last end of the good man is peace.
58 COLONIAL AND OLD HOUSES OF GREENWICH.
Very little is known of the physicians of Greenwich
that preceeded Dr. Ward. It is thought their medicines
were principally if not wholly derived from the vegetable
kingdom, and many of the Indian remedies were used in
their practice.
Dr. Ward married Phebe Holmes, the daughter of
Jonathan Holmes, who was a prominent member of the
old Greenwich Church.
Philip Vickers Fithian, was granted a leave of absence,
May 1774, while teaching in Virginia, to visit his "dear old
home in Cohansey." -'-
He travelled the distance on horseback, the principal
mode of travel before the Revolutionary War. He called
on Mrs. Ward soon after arriving, and found her distressed
and sorrowing after her late beloved husband, who had
died a few months previous. He attended the Greenwich
Church the following Sabbath and dined with Mrs. Ward,
in the old homestead.
Reader leave the present age and go back with me,
one hundred and thirty-three years, and in spirit attend
service in that small brick church, that cool May morning.
It was within sight and only a short distance from Mrs.
Ward's residence. The young and tender leaves on the
trees around the church and throughout the county had
been blackened by the cold; it was thought the fruit hap
been frozen beyond recovery, and probably the flax too.
*Philip V. Pithian's journal, while tutor in Virginia, has been
published by The Princeton Historical Association, Princeton, N. J.,
1900.
THE WARD HOUSE 59
Mr. Fithian writes he saw, handled and measured ice two
inches thick the fifth day of May, and a considerable
quantity of snow fell the day previous.
The dimensions of the church were thirty-four by
forty-four feet. Pews around the walls and benches in
the central area. There were galleries reached by stair-
ways outside. It is the communion season; we can almost
hear their solemn vows and hymns of love and praise as
with bowed heads, they partook of the broken emblems of
the Holy Sacrament, administered by Rev. Andrew Hunter
and his assistant elders. In their worship they were re-
newing allegiance to their crucified King, and praying for
freedom from the British yoke. The people of the colonies
were being imposed upon by oppressive taxation, by King
George and his Parliment, whose subjects they were.
There were dark ominous war clouds threatening the
country to crush the spirit of freedom and patriotism which
was so nobly demonstrated in Andrew Hunter, his
parishioners and the citizens of Cumberland County. The
Greenwich Church was thought the largest and most im-
posing in South Jersey, when completed in 175 1. In 1740
when the celebrated Whitefield came to Cohansey, the
building could not contain the people, so they assembled in
the forest north-east of the church. Benjamin Franklin,
who is said to have been the most illustrious American of
the past, tells us he had a loud clear voice and articulated
his words so perfectly, he could be heard and understood
60 COLONIAL AND OLD HOUSES OF GREENWICH.
at a great distance, preaching to thousands in the open air.
It has been stated there were three thousand in the Green-
wich gathering.
To-day the tomb of Andrew Hunter, with its moss
covered tablet, is keeping the ground sacred where the old
church, built and dedicated to the worship of God by the
early settlers, stood for many years. Mr. Hunter, after
preaching for thirty years within its walls, fell a victim
to dysentery in 1775, and was buried beneath the middle
aisle, near the pulpit. If you have time and patience to
read the darkened stones that encircle the tomb, you will
find such names as Maskell, Ewing, Fithian, Brewster,
Holmes, Bacon, Brown, Dennis and many others, who
were members and supporters of the old church, all gather-
ed around him in death.
"Time, as with magic wand
Changes all.
Builds aloft and
Makes to fall."
In 1775 Mrs. Ward married Dr. Moses Bloomfield, who
was a practitioner of medicine of Woodbridge, New Jersey.
He was a man of culture and of fine appearance, and con-
sidered one of the best physicians of his day. He filled
many prominent positions of trust and honor during his life
time. His opinion was highly valued and much sought
after in civil and church matters. "He was named a
trustee in the charter of the Presbyterian Church 1756,
THE WARD HOUSE 6l
30th year of his reign of George II. Also a trustee named
in the charter by George III, of free school lands in
Woodbridge, New Jersey." He first married Miss Ogden,
of Elizabethtown and by this union several children were
born; the eldest son, Joseph Bloomfield, became Governor
of New Jersey. We read the following inscription on his
tombstone in the cemetery at Woodbridge:
"In memory of Dr. Moses Bloomfield, forty years a
physician and surgeon in this town, senior physician and
surgeon in the Hospital of the United States. Representa-
tive in the Provincial Congress and General Assembly.
An upright Magistrate. Elder of the Presbyterian Church.
Born December 4, 1729, died August 14, 1791, in his 63rd
year. 'Tim. i: 12. I know in whom I have believed.' "
His widow survived him and was buried by the side of
her first husband, Dr. Ward, in the Greenwich cemetery.
A large tablet was erected to her memory with this
inscription:
A
Memorial
of
Phebe Bloomfield,
Daughter of Jonathan Holmes, Esq.
In June 1766 she married Doct Ward of Greenwich &
survived her husband. Was again married to Doct
Bloomfield of Woodbridge in 1775, whom she survived
& departed this life after a tedious & severe illness on
62 COLONIAL AND OLD HOUSES OF GREENWICH.
the 29th of August, 1820, in the 82nd year of her age.
She was a member of the Presbyterian Church of Bridge-
ton, upward of 12 years, and was esteemed by all her
connections and acquaintances.
Our age to seventy years is set
How short the time, how frail the state
And if to eighty we arrive,
We rather sigh and groan than live.
We read the epitaphs and take the path back to the
deserted house. We are loath to leave it, not because
there is any particular style or beauty in the architecture
of the old colonial building, but because in the olden time,
it has been the home of and frequented by such excellent
people. Real men, noble men of culture and intellect,
whose very manhood was uplifting to humanity about
them. Men who served not only God and their country,
but their fellow men. it has been justly said that the early
physicians of Cumberland County were "Martyrs to the
cause of humanity," and were they not? In their daily
professional calls they never knew the luxury of an easy,
cushioned, covered conveyance, but were obliged to travel
on horseback many miles through the tall forests, follow-
ing the Indian paths from one lonely clearing to another;
not only exposed to the summer's heat and winter's cold,
but the stormy wind and driving rain. The storms and
darkness often compelling them to seek shelter for the night
in the pioneer's log cabin, or wherever it could be found.
THE WARD HOUSE 63
These exposures induced fatigue and colds which con-
signed them to an early grave. They lived life's little
day, but as Carlyle tells us, "they cast forth their acts,
their words into the ever living, ever working universe,
and they are seed grains that will flourish after a thousand
years have passed."
Then the old house is interesting because it was the
home in later years of Dr. Enoch B. Fithian, whom some
of us were permitted to know in the evening of his life.
Time had whitened his hair and furrowed his brow and he
had retired from active professional labor — after rendering
his fellowman a service of forty-one years — when the
writer first remembers him. His practice covered a large
area, and he was the leading physician among his fellow
practitioners. He filled honorable positions in the
Medical Societies of state and county. His mode of travel
was a covered two wheeled vehicle called a gig. it was
drawn by one horse with a motion so irregular, that it
would contrast strangely with the handsome rubber tired
carriage used by the physician to-day.
Much has been said and written of this remarkable
man, who attained the great age of one hundred years and
six months. He was born May 10, 1792, and died Novem-
ber 15, 1892. There is no epitaph with the inscription
upon the monument that marks his burying place, like the
earlier physicians; his great modesty forbad it. But we
who knew him saw embodied in the man, goodness, moral
64 COLONIAL AND OLD HOUSES OF GREENWICH,
courage, the old time gentleman and the Christian. Then
he was a great store house of knowledge, having lived
through one hundred eventful years, and being an intelli-
gent observer, he imparted to others as occasion demanded.
The writer remembers taking tea with Dr. Fithian and
his niece, the late Mary C. Fithian, when the day previous
the news had flashed across the wires from Europe, that
Pope Pius IX was deceased. The Doctor— being three
days the eldest — had lived contemporary with him, and had
been a close observer in the eventful periods in the his-
tory of papacy while he occupied the papal chair. He
spoke of his many reforms which did much for the ad-
vancement and improvement of the city of Rome and its
institutions. He spoke of his physical weakness, and
his activity in attending personally to all public affairs,
civil as well as ecclesiastical of his oftke. When we left
the old homestead we had a better insight into the life of
the late Pope than if we had read his biography.
The church and community are indebted to him for col-
lecting and preserving the records of its past history.
We take one look at the yard and garden where the
modest lillies of the valley grew in profusion, and every re-
turning spring sent up their spiral like snowy blossoms, and
made the air fragrant with their sweet and delicate odor at
the time of the aged Doctor's birthday anniversary, and
were eagerly sought after by many of the guests in attend-
ance. We leave the old deserted house and go away, for
THE WARD HOUSE 65
"Life and thought here no longer dwell."
Another house with an interesting history in the same
locality of the Ward house, was the Hunt homestead. It
stood south of the church and was destroyed by fire about
twenty years ago. The house was two stories high with
five rooms on the first floor, with large open fire-places,
high mantels and every old time arrangement. The parlor
contained a Franklin stove. The Hunts were of Scotch
Irish ancestry and one of the old families of Cumberland
County.
Robert Hunt, the first known by that name, settled in
Shiloh and married Rebecca the daughter of Isaac and
Hannah Barret Ayars, a grand-daughter of Robert Ayars,
the first settler of Shiloh.
This house was the homestead of James B. Hunt, a
grand-son of Robert Hunt, who, with his brother John,
v/ere among the historic tea burners that eventful night in
1774. James Hunt was a soldier in the Revolutionary
War; he was in the battle of Trenton, and later in life be-
came a judge of the County Court. He married Sarah,
daughter of Maskell Ewing.
Their sons, Thomas Ewing and Reuben Hunt, were in-
fluential citizens of Greenwich and active members of the
Presbyterian Church, Thomas serving as elder for many
years. They were farmers; Reuben cultivating his father's
farm, and living and dying in the homestead. It was also
the home of his daughter, Mrs. Eliza Kellogg, nearly her
66 COLONIAL AND OLD HOUSES OF GREENWICH.
entire life.
There are two descendants of the family still in Green-
wich. Mrs. Ruth Wallace, a daughter of Mrs. Kellogg,
who resides very near where the old house stood, and
Thomas E. Hunt, son of Thomas Ewing Hunt, who is an
extensive land owner and one of the most successful
peach growers of Greenwich township.
1
CHAPTER VIll.
nnaeF^clI an^ EwtnG Mouses,
As you go to Bacon's Neck from North Greenwich,
you find old houses along the roadside, a quarter of a
mile or so apart, with a hundred acres, more or less, front-
ing, or back of the house, as the land has been cleared for
cultivation.
The first house known to be colonial is the Maskell
homestead, about a mile from Greenwich street. One look
at the antiquated structure, with its moss covered gambrel
roof, standing alone in its style of architecture, convinces
one that it is the oldest house on the street and was
built in the remote past; the high part built of brick and
stone which are gradually crumbling, contain the original
features. In olden times the house and farm were called
"Vauxhall Gardens."
It was the custom of the early settlers to name their
places of settlement; the name sometimes giving the place
distinction throughout the country. As "Fenwick's Court"
"Bacon's Adventure," "Tindall's Bowery," Watson's Run-
thrope" and "Holly Bourne."
68 COLONIAL AND OLD HOUSES OF GREENWICH.
It is supposed the Maskell property was named after
the Vauxhall public gardens of Philadelphia, which no
doubt were named after the famous Vauxhall public gar-
dens in London, which were constituted after the restora-
tion, (May 1660), and continued for nearly two centuries.
They were situated in Lambeth opposite Millbank, near the
Manor called Fulke's Hall, from which was derived Vaux-
hall.
Thomas Maskell, the emigrant, married Bythia
Parsons in Connecticut in 1658. Their son settled in
Greenwich, early in 1700, and built and lived in this old
homestead. He was highly respected and became a man
of much usefulness. He was one of the grantors of the
site of the Presbyterian Church. We learn in 1709 he as-
sisted in taking an inventory of Samuel Hedge's estate.
He was a witness to Gabriel Davis' will, who died in 1714.
He also witnessed and took inventory of Robert Robbins'
estate, in 1715, and Jonathan Wood's in 1727. He died
January 2, 1732.
Thomas Maskell, the third, was appointed sheriff by
Governor Franklin, in 1769, holding the office for three
years.
There are large tablets erected in the Presbyterian
cemetery at Greenwich to the memory of Thomas Maskell
the third, and his wife. If we read the inscriptions, it
gives us an insight to the character of these noble people.
MASKELL AND EWING HOUSES. 69
"Beneath this stone was buried the body of Thomas
Maskell, Esq., who died September g, 1803, in the 83rd
year of his age. He spent a long life in the exercise of
every domestic, and many public virtues, and exhibited a
bright example of integrity, economy and Christian pro-
priety of conduct. As he lived, so he died, in the faith of
the Gospel of Christ, and with a lively hope of a Glorious
Immortality, through the merits of his obedience and
death."
"His flesh shall slumber in the ground.
Till the last trumpets joyful sound.
Then burst the chains with sweet surprise,
And in the Saviour's image rise."
"In the memory of Esther Maskell, relict of Thomas
Maskell, Esq., deed., who died September nth, 1805, in
the 58th year of her age. She was an affectionate and
condescending wife, a tender and indulgent parent, and a
bright pattern of domestic virtue, and economy. As a pro-
fessor of religion, was attendant and devout, and died in
the faith of Jesus Christ and lively hope of redemption
through his blood.
Let surviving friends be solicitous in imitating her vir-
tues, and follow her footsteps as she followed Christ and
did good, and to improve their bereavement by diligent
preparations for meeting her in a future state."
"Hear what the word from heaven declares
To those in Christ who die.
Released from all their earthly cares.
They reign with him on high."
70 COLONIAL AND OLD HOUSES OF GREENWICH.
An old plastered house stands a short distance north of
the Maskell homestead. It was built by Jacob Harris, but
is now the residence of James Butler. The interior of this
house is of superior finish and the parlor originally contain-
ed an arched corner cupboard, which was removed in after
years.
The next house south of the Maskell place is the Ewing
homestead. Its modernized appearance, does not suggest
to the observer, that a portion of the house was erected
when our country was unborn as a republic, and under
kingly rule. The east room and hall are known to have
been in use for nearly 200 years. Thomas Ewing settled
in Greenwich about the year 1718. He married Mary,
daughter of Thomas Maskell, March 27, 1720. Her father
gave her as a marriage portion, one hundred acres of
land. Their house when first erected, stood near the south
west corner of the cross-roads. In after years was moved
father south where it now stands, and the large parlor
added which at the present time remains much the same,
through the changes the years have made in the building.
The parlor still retains the old Franklin stove, which is
used for heating the room. Benjamin Franklin says in his
autobiography: "he invented in 1742 an open stove for the
better warming of rooms." Governor Thomas was so
pleased with the construction of the stove, that he offered
him a patent for the sole vending of them for a term of
years, but he declined from a principle, "as we enjoy ad-
MASKELL AND EWING HOUSES. Jl
vantages from the inventions of others, we should be glad
of an opportunity to serve others with an invention of
ours."
They grew in favor and were used in very many
houses in Pennsylvania and the neighboring states.
Finley Ewing, a Scotch Presbyterian, left Scotland
with his wife Jane, during the religious oppressions, and
settled in Londonderry, Ireland. For his bravery at the
battle of Boyne Water, in 1690, he was presented with a
sword by King William 111. Thomas Ewing, their son, was
born in Londonderry, and came to America on account of
the troubles in Ireland and settled in Greenwich.
Thomas and Mary's eldest son was Maskell Ewing,
born in 1721. He attained to much prominence in his
neighborhood, being appointed to various offices; "in 1757
was Sheriff of Cumberland County, from which he retired
in 1760. He was commissioned March 22d, 1762 one
of the Surrogates for West Jersey, holding the office un-
til 1776. He is said to have been County Clerk also,
and Judge of the Common Pleas."
He married Mary Paget, of English descent, in 1743.
She was a woman of remarkable ability. There were ten
children born to them and this energetic woman, made their
clothing from the flax and wool raised on the farm, besides
house linen and bedding, candle making, cheese making
for market, raising poultry, and all ordinary housework
without any assistance, only as her young daughters grew
72 COLONIAL AND OLD HOUSES OF GREENWICH.
to aid her. It is said slie read many good books in the
evening by placing them on her lap while her hands ap-
plied the knitting needles, "And on the Sabbath, a folio
Flavel, the Institute of Calvin, and her Bible were the
treasures in which her soul delighted."
If we could lift the veil that hides the past of this old
home, we would see much simplicity in food and costume,
and what we deem necessaries in the present age, would
have been great luxuries to that household.
While her husband was battling with nature's field and
forest, preparing pastures to be clothed with flocks and
herds; this noble woman was keeping the home life
and was planting the seeds of practical industry, integrity
and economy. Woman's domestic love and training make
the home, and homes and mothers largely determine the
career of the children. If the mother's domestic ideal is
high, pure and noble, her children will rise up and call her
blessed, and her influence goes on down the ages and
never dies. But when fashion and the modern club
rule the life of the mother to the neglect of the home,
sad will be the consequence to our social, industrial and
civil life.
There was the strictest economy among the early set-
tlers. In a Quaker settlement of one of our neighboring
states, for a number of years there was only one pair of
boots; they were owned by one of the leading families, and
were loaned by the true spirit of "ye olden time" to the
MASKELL AND EWING HOUSES. 73
neighbor, who was going to the city or on a journey.
A single great coat has been known to serve the com-
munity on such occasions. Only one blanket was used
before Christmas, two after, giving us an idea of the bodily
hardiness of the early settler,
Maskell Ewing died in 1796. The children of Maskell
and Mary Paget Ewing fdled places of honor, and some of
the sons were prominent figures in the history of the past,
filling important positions in the state and country.
Their son. Dr. Thomas Ewing, was born January
13, 1748. In his boyhood he attended the classical school
of Rev. Enoch Green, at Deerfield, and afterwards studied
medicine under the direction of Dr. Samuel Ward, of
Greenwich. He married Sarah Fithian, daughter of
Samuel and Abigail Fithian. They moved to Cold Spring,
Cape May, where he practiced medicine until after Dr.
Ward's death, then settled in his practice.
He was one of the disguised Indians in the famous "Tea
Party" at Greenwich. When the Revolutionary War be-
gan, he was commissioned surgeon of a brigade to be raised
in the lower counties. He was appointed by the Legisla-
ture, and commissioned Major of the 2d battalion of the
Cumberland regiment, commanded by Col. David Potter.
He was present at the disastrous retreat from Long
Island, and narrowly escaped being captured. He made
several voyages during the war with Captain Collins, mak-
ing successful captures. In 1781 he was elected a member
74 COLONIAL AND OLD HOUSES OF GREENWICH.
of the State Legislature; his health rapidly declined and he
died October 7, 1782.
The stone that marks his grave in the Presbyterian
Church yard in Greenwich bears this inscription:
Thomas Ewing, Esq.,
Surgeon,
and
Practitioner in Physic,
After having served his country
With fidelity and reputation,
In a variety of important offices
Civil and Military.
Died highly beloved
And much lamented,
Oct 7, 1782,
hi the 35th year of his age."
He had two children; Samuel, who died young and
William Bedford Ewing, who became a prominent phy-
sician of Greenwich.
Another son, Maskell, born January 30, 1758, was
elected Clerk of the Assembly before he was twenty-one
and moved to Trenton to attend the duties of the office,
where he remained for twenty years. He was Recorder
in Trenton for sometime, hi 1803 he moved to Philadel-
phia, then to Delaware County, Pennsylvania, represent-
ing the latter county in the State Senate for six years. He
died August 25, 1825.
MASKELL AND EWING HOUSES. 75
James Evving, another son of Maskell and Mary Ewing,
was a member of the "Tea Party." He was elected to the
Assembly from Cumberland County in 1778, and took
up his residence in Trenton in 1779.
He was the author of an ingenious "Columbian
Alphabet," an attempt at a reformed system of spelling,
which he explained in a pamphlet published in Trenton in
1798. He was Mayor of Trenton 1797 — 1803. He died
October 23, 1823. His only son, Charles Ewing, born in
1780, was Chief Justice of New Jersey 1824 — 1832, dying
in office.
In after years the Ewing homestead came into the
possession of Ercurious Sheppard, and later Ebenezer Har-
mer. Then it was owned by Wilmon Bacon, who ex-
changed with Silas Glaspey for a farm near Sheppard's
Mills — one was tired of clay and the other of sand — so they
agreed to change farms, it remained in the possession of
the Glaspeys for a long time. During their ownership the
house was said to be haunted. Many changes were made
by the different owners by enlarging and adding rooms.
The back part of the house was rebuilt by William
Glaspey. In an upper west room was a door opening into
a north room. When Mr. Glaspey rebuilt the north room
he had no use for the door, but built against it, leaving it
with its old heavy hinges and bolts. It would open about
two inches against the wall of the next room, and persons
sleeping in this room are said to have seen a dear little
76 COLONIAL AND OLD HOUSES OF GREENWICH.
Quaker lady come from behind this door and stand at the
foot of the bed, but since the place has become the prop-
erty of Warren Butler, who has thoroughly renovated and
modernized the house, and Mrs. Butler, the real Quaker
lady presides in loving and gentle dignity in the home,
the illusive Quaker lady has not been seen.
Charles Ewing, the only descendant of Thomas Ewing,
that bears the name who resides in the Ewing homestead
on Greenwich street, has named this old house, "Resur-
rection Hall," for after a lapse of years it is remodelled and
stands among the other houses on the street as though it
wholly belonged to the present age.
The Ewings in the past were quite numerous in the
village, and erected a number of houses, some of them en-
tirely gone, and have passed into oblivion, while a few still
remain.
A house on the Bacon's Neck road from lower Green-
wich, where Ephraim Bacon resided for years, and later
followed by his son, Theodore, is said to have been built
by one of the Ewing brothers and dates back toward
colonial daj-s. The house was built with heavy doors and
hinges, some of them having the old time latch string.
The large, white stone plastered house on Bacon's
Neck road, owned for many years by Samuel Fithian, and
later by his son, Josiah, was built by George Ewing.
The old frame house west of the Wood residence, and
near the railroad, is said to have been built by James
MASKULL AND EWING HOUSES. ^^
Ewino;. These two houses date back to the time of the
colonies, and are in a fair condition and still habitable.
There are roads leading from Bacon's Neck to
Stathem's Neck in a westerly direction. This neck of land
is bordered by the marsh and waters of Stow Creek
River, which empties in the Delaware near Bay Side.
Stathem's Neck comprises very fertile farms. The
first known settler was Thomas Stathem, who paid quit-
rents for the land as early as 1690, along with Mark Reeve,
Obadiah Holmes, Samuel Bacon, Joseph Dennis and
others, for land in Cohansey precinct; these quit-rents
were collected for the heirs of Fenwick, and were paid
yearly, according to the number of acres each owned.
The brothers, Philip and Zebulon, soon followed
Thomas in settling in the same locality. Zebulon was a
carpenter as well as a yeoman, and he and his brother
Philip bought 600 acres of John Smith, of Salem County,
December 31, 1698.
The Stathems became very numerous from these three
progenitors, and the neck still bears their name.
Thomas Stathem in his will provided for an old negro
servant in the family by leaving him £40.
The Stathem's brick colonial house is still standing on
a back road leading to Flax Point, and is owned by Isaac
Ridgeway.
There is a tradition handed down from generation to
generation concerning this old house. It is said to have
U6f "^
78 COLONIAL AND OLD HOUSES OF GREENWICH.
secretly held gold, taken in traffic with the British during
the Revolutionary War.
At that period it was the home of one Philip Stathem
who was a Tory. Having herds of cattle, he would kill
and dress them during the day, and when the gathering
darkness covered land and river, would take the dressed
meat by boat, to the British vessels which were foraging
along the Delaware and its tributaries. He received pay-
ment in gold. When returning home he would raise the
shelf of the high mantel over the fire-place, which was con-
structed on hinges, and empty his coin.
The late Dr. Thomas E. Stathem purchased a part of
the ancestral tract of land and did much to beautify the
surroundings by setting out fruit trees.
It remained in his possession during his life time. The
only descendants at the present time in Greenwich Town-
ship, are David J. Stathem, the well known merchant of
North Greenwich, and Miss Lizzie Woodruff, whose
mother was a sister to the late Dr. Thomas E. Stathem.
CHAPTER IX.
®lt) IHouees.
On the straight road to Roadstown, from North Green-
wich, we find two story brick houses. They are finely
situated on high ground, facing the street, with hundreds
of fertile acres around them.
The house farthest north is dated 1783, with the
initials "B. R. R." engraved with the date. The time of
building and the initials were sometimes wrought with
bricks of different colors, and sometimes shown by letters
and figures in iron on the front. This property was in the
possession of Josiah Harmer, about seventy years ago;
then later was bought by the Woods of Philadelphia. It is
now owned by Frank Lupton. The living room is com-
modious and opens into a large shed on the eastern side,
and an inviting porch on the western, shaded by a roof
attached to the house. A few steps from the main living
room lead to the higher part on the first floor, where are
two pleasant rooms facing the street, with an outer en-
trance from the east room, where we find another restful
porch.
8o COLONIAL AND OLD HOUSES OF GREENWICH.
Another brick house a short distance south of the
Lupton house, is dated 1786. It was originally a Tyler
homestead. The Tylers were numerous in the village in
the past, but at present there is no resident by that
name who is a descendant of the old families. There is
property owned in the township, by the sons of the late
John Tyler, who have moved elsewhere. One noticeable
feature of this house is an old English hall extending
through the middle, with an entrance north and south;
when thrown open to the southern breezes of a hot sum-
mer day, it is cool and inviting.
The most striking feature of many of the better
dwellings of colonial architecture in the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries was the wide open passage or hall in
the middle of the house, entered directly on passing the
main entrance. Here the family sat to receive guests, and
were sometimes scenes of festivity. They were said
to be a "relic of the primitive undivided Anglo-Saxon dwell-
ing." William Penn built a large hall in the centre of his
mansion on his manor at Pennsbury, here he met his
council and held parleys with the Indians.
in the past a row of Lombardy poplars graced the
road, fronting this old house.
it is said William Penn set the fashion of planting them
along country roads. At present the farm and home is
owned by Edward Lloyd.
From the highest hills of these rolling farms, there are
OLD HOUSES. 8l
fine views of the bay and river. When the many trees
that intervene have disrobed their livery of green, and the
mists of the morning have rolled away, much of the ship-
ping can plainly be seen. The water and sky seem to be
in close proximity to each other, and the high masted
schooners look to be piercing the clouds.
A gentleman from the eastern part of the state was
riding for the first time over the road through these hills to
the village, when the atmospheric conditions were favorable
for clear views of the bay and river. He saw the bay
along the southern horizon, and the river along the western.
He exclaimed, "1 would not live in the village under any
condition," for said he "The waters will some day sub-
merge this whole section of country."
But hath not "He divided the sea with His power, and
hath compassed the waters with bounds" until the end of
liaht with darkness. "The Lord of Hosts is his name."
"Then at night the beacon's glow
Over tides that ebb and flow, —
Over shoals of silver sand
By the salt sea breezes fanned, —
Pinning fast her sable gown
With a star, above the town."
There are four lights that can be distinctly seen from
the light houses, from these hills.
One is "Old Cohansey" light, which is situated on
the marsh at the mouth of Cohansey River, near the
82 COLONIAL AND OLD HOUSES OF GREENWICH.
junction of Delaware Bay and River. This light guides
the mariner over the bay and two rivers.
Another is "Ship John" light, — which apparently
stands in the middle of the bay. Sometime during the
eighteenth century, a vessel by the name of John, after a
thrilling experience with the ice, was wrecked by
striking a shoal near the site of this light house.
The government made a foundation of stone, then
erected an iron light house at a cost of $200,000 for the
future preservation of its shipping. Through the courtesy
of the late Capt. George W. Sloan, the writer was enabled
to visit this interesting light house. Capt. Sloan was en-
gaged during the Civil War in transporting supplies for the
government, from Philadelphia to Washington, D. C. and
other places. He commanded the Atlas and Swallow and
other steamers. Upon retiring from active service he
spent the evening of his days in the village of Greenwich,
The two other lights that can be seen from the hills
are Duck Creek and Reedy island.
About a half mile from Edward Lloyd's residence, on
the road to the cross roads leading to Stow Creek township
and the city of Salem, stands an old brick house, which
was originally another Tyler homestead, it is similar in
architecture to the other brick houses in this locality and
was erected about the same time. The homestead and
farm of about three hundred acres of productive land — a
portion of it skirting the waters of the mill pond — is owned
I
OLD HOUSES. 83
at the present time by Capt. Charles Miller. About mid-
way between the two Tyler homesteads, on the hillside,
stood a colonial house in by gone years. It was known as
the Tomlinson homestead, the birthplace of Mrs. Rebecca
Jones, (whose maiden name was Tomlinson), who is a
resident of the village. About the time of the Civil War,
the place became the property of Newbold Reeves, a
Quaker, who removed the old house and erected a large,
attractive residence upon the site. The home and farm
are now owned by Mary Bacon Watson, a lineal descend-
ant of Samuel Bacon, the first settler of Bacon's Neck, and
the place is known in the village as Hillside Farm.
There have been other colonial houses along the road-
side, nearer the village than the last mentioned, one
stood near the residence of Mrs. Hannah Edwards, and
another on the site of the home of Charles Watson, for-
merly owned by Robert Ayars. There are others that
have been entirely obliterated from the landscape, and
for a time ruins of an old well, or a clump of lilac bushes,
hinted to the passing traveller, that an old house had been
near, but time with its revolving seasons and passing years
is ever changing the landscape scene, and all physical and
material substances, and yearly waving grain or grass
covers the home of many an early settler.
There is a group of three interesting old houses on the
main street, in the vicinity of the Presbyterian parsonage.
They stand on the right side of the street as you travel
84 COLONIAL AND OLD HOUSES OF GREENWICH.
south.
The first building was erected for a Methodist Church,
and was built on the south side of Pine Mount. With the
tide of emigration, there came very few Methodists, so a
church of that faith could not be supported. It was sold to
the Hicksite Quakers, and removed to the main street.
The building contained two stories, with a stairway on the
outside. The first floor was used for Quaker Meeting, and
the second for a private school. About a half century ago
it was moved across the street farther north, and trans-
formed into a dwelling, and the present brick Quaker
Meeting House erected where it formerly stood.
The next house south, is the Williams' homestead.
The progenitor of the family raised in this home, of whom
there are descendants in Greenwich and other places in
Cumberland County, was a son of a planter in the Island
of San Domingo, He came to Greenwich in a vessel when
a young lad, fleeing from the insurrection in that Island in
1800. His name was Jean Jacques Couer Deroi. He
changed his name to William Williams, — possibly after the
signer of the Declaration of Independence by that name
from Connecticut. He was much respected by the citizens
of Greenwich, dying at the ripe age of seventy-nine years,
October 22, 1869. His widow, Easter Williams, survived
him and lived to be a nonegenarian.
The third or last house of the group is the old Stewart
home and is in possession of Mrs. Sallie Young, a descend-
OLD HOUSES. 85
ant of the family.
As we go farther south, on the left side of the street
we find a large wooden house that is thought to be one
hundred years old. It is owned by William Test, who
formerly lived there. It is the nearest house to the Hick-
site Quaker Meeting House, and has always been the
home of Quaker families. Farther down the street at the
turn of the road stands another house that is a century old.
Seventy-five years ago it was the home of Joseph and
Cynthia Sheppard. it has been enlarged and modernized
and is now the pleasant home of Howard and Sarah
Mulford Hancock. There are other old houses in the
village and a few colonial houses in the township, that the
writer is not familiar with and failing to obtain their history,
has not mentioned them in this work.
All along the crooked reaches of the river and scatter-
ed through "Old Cohansey," now Cumberland County,
stand old houses; some in the last stages of decay; others
so substantially built, they reveal to us in a measure the
character of the builder.
"As the creation of a thousand forests are in one
acorn," so the creation of many lives, and our own, came
through the victory the early settler gained by his ener-
getic struggle with the forest, the soil, the climatic dangers
and the Indian.
The wheels of progress move steadily onward in Times'
rushing current, and as man develops the latent God given
86 COLONIAL AND OLD HOUSES OF GREENWICH.
powers within him, he leaves his crude beginnings and
makes better conditions. He has but to look around and
beneath him, to see nature's bountiful resources for
material, and we see evolved from the primitive one room-
ed log cabin, with its oiled paper opening to admit rays of
light, the stately many roomed mansion, with windows
of clearest crystal, through which the sunlight penetrates
the entire building. If man follows the highest light within
him, which is as a fixed star steadily shining, though clouds
with their shadows sometimes seem to obscure it, his end
is peace, and he is crowned with glory and honor,
"and his works do follow him."
Greenwich with its old time houses, holds an enviable
position in "Old Cumberland." The sons and daughters
of the old town who have gone forth from these homes into
a larger sphere of action, have always been able to look
back with reverent pride to the place of their birth, with its
traditions and historical associations.
By an act of legislature, provision has been made for a
monument, which will soon be erected to commemorate
the burning of East India tea, December 22, 1774, by its
liberty loving citizens.
To-day "Old Cohansey," (of which during the
eighteenth century, Greenwich, with its broad streets,
churches and schools was the principal place), now Cumber-
land County, with its cities, towns and villages, is
pulsating with life and modern progress. Of the country's
OLD HOUSKS. 87
marvelous growth, Greenwich has had little share, but
during all the years has maintained its reputation for
industry, intelligence and generosity.
With more than two centuries of existence and honor-
able record, as a crown of honor, we still find within the
borders of this ancient town, as of yore, peaceful and
happy homes, where the old time hospitality prevails;
and on its rich productive farms, we hear the rustle of
corn and murmur of the brook, which is as sweet music to
our ears as to our forerunner the Indian, who loved
nature's gladness.
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